The Dark Stallion
by BlameThe1st
Summary: A unicorn in search of an artifact. A pegasus who lost his memories. A wandering swordspony who wields his sword against evil. When these three colts cross paths with the Mane 6, they begin encountering dark forces that befall Ponyville. Now they must team up to thwart the devious Shadow Clan and their leader, the Dark Stallion, all while trying to obtain the Amulet of Purity.
1. Episode 01

**_My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_**** presents**

_**The Dark Stallion**_

**Episode 01: ****_Xander, Lone Unicorn On A Quest_**

* * *

The smell of burning wood roused the young colt from his slumber. As smoke tickled his nostrils, his head leapt from off of his pillow and turned to face the door across his room. He could see its outline glowing red with smoke rising from underneath it.

In a split second, he leapt from underneath his comforter, raced across the cold hardwood floor, and lunged toward the doorknob, which scalded his palm upon touch. Opening the door to his hallway felt like opening the door to an oven with a burning roast inside, as he was met with a torrent of black smoke and smoldering heat that quickly filled his room.

The colt coughed to prevent himself from asphyxiating. With his eyes watering, his eyesight soon adjusted to the darkness. He could now peer through the smoke and down the hallway. At the very end was another door from whence the smoke and flames emanated.

This door led to his father's study.

"Father!" he yelled at the top of his shrill, young voice. "Father, what's going on?!"

He raced through the smoke-engulfed hallway and toward the door. With a single leap, he kicked it open.

The study was engulfed in flames that ate away at the old books stored within it. This intensified the old book smell, and combined it with the scent of smoke to create an almost incense-like aroma.

In the center of the room stood a light brown stallion with a wild, dark red mane and a deep scar across his right eye. The stallion grimaced, cackling as he stood over another stallion, this one dark blue with a silver-blue mane and goatee, and lying within a pool of blood.

The colt gasped as he recognized the fallen stallion. "Father! No!"

* * *

**10 Years Later**

* * *

Spike, with his snout upon the tabletop, watched as a cockroach scurried across. His eyes then focused on Twilight standing opposite him.

"Ready, Twilight?" he asked.

Twilight nodded. "Here goes."

She closed her eyes as her horn glowed with a purple aura. Before either the pony or dragon could blink, a glass jar materialized on the table, trapping the cockroach within it.

Spike leapt for joy, fist pumped in the air. "Alright!"

He ran to a nearby checklist propped upon an easel.

"That's your 50th spell and counting, Twilight!" he said as he marked a red check. "You've sure learned a lot since you moved to Ponyville a year ago."

Twilight blushed. "That's what happens when you commit yourself to your studies."

Spike sauntered over to the table and stared at the cockroach trying frantically to escape its glass prison, despite the fact that it was sealed shut with a lid.

"I have to say, though, it would have been much cooler if you made it explode." He threw his elbows on the table and placed his chin upon his claws. "20 percent cooler if it had exploded in a sonic rainboom."

Twilight giggled. "It may have been cooler, but it wouldn't have been as humane."

Using her magic, she picked up the jar, causing the bug within to scurry faster in panic.

"It may be an ugly Blattodea, but it's still a living creature, and it has every right to live."

Spike rolled his eyes. "You've been hanging around Fluttershy lately, haven't you?"

Twilight walked over to a nearby window to open the jar and throw out the roach. "That obvious?"

"I still say you should learn how to make something explode." Spike leapt from the table and walked toward Twilight. "It would look great on your list of spells. Then again, I don't know any other pony who knows more spells than you do."

On that note, the library door flew open.

Through it entered a colt, a light-blue unicorn with a silver mane. He wore a brown jacket, a satchel over his shoulder, and a golden pocket watch dangling around his neck. Though his jacket concealed it, his cutie mark was a green triangle inside a square inside a circle—an alchemy circle. He was slightly taller than Twilight and seemed slightly older than her, but if only by a year or two. His eyes flickered with a serious look—not a mean one, but by no means gleeful either.

Without speaking a word, he walked over to one of the bookshelves. He scanned its contents before choosing a book using the magic from his horn.

"Oh, good morning," Twilight greeted him.

The unicorn glanced at Twilight, then back at his book. "Morning."

"Back again, I see?" Twilight commented.

The unicorn did not respond. He walked to a nearby table where he sat down and started reading his book, but not before unloading the contents of his satchel: a notepad, a pencil, and a few other books of his.

"This has to be the third time this week he's come here," Spike whispered into Twilight's ear.

Twilight nodded. "Yes. And he always stays until closing. Must be important research he's working on."

"I don't think I've seen him around before. Is he new to Ponyville?"

"I think he moved into town just this week."

"What's his name?"

"You know, I'm not sure either. I never really talked to him."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Spike asked, smacking Twilight on the rump, prodding her forward. "Go ahead and talk to him."

Twilight hesitated. "But—"

Spike motioned for her to move forward.

Twilight shrugged. She walked over to the colt, who was now in deep concentration, reading his book and taking notes.

"Looks like you're doing some pretty important research there," Twilight said, trying desperately to break the ice.

The colt did not look up to acknowledge her, but continued what he was doing. "It is."

"I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Twilight Sparkle."

The unicorn continued his work, taking a much longer time before replying, "Xander."

Silence hung between the two: Xander engrossed in his research, and Twilight hesitating to say something. She had not felt this awkward since she had first met Fluttershy—but to Xander's credit, he was still more talkative that her.

"So, Xander, just what is it exactly you're researching there?" She asked. "You've been here every day for—"

"Listen, Miss," The colt interrupted, not in a mean way, but rather in a blunt one. "I don't mean to be rude, but I'm busy right now and I prefer not to be disturbed."

Twilight gasped and blushed bright red. "Oh! Well, um. I guess I'll leave you to your work then."

She quietly slipped away and returned to Spike, who shot a dirty look at Xander.

"Well, at least we know he's the rude type." He said, hands upon hips.

Twilight shook her head. "He's not rude, just pre-occupied. I used to be the same way, remember? We just need to give him time. He'll open up eventually."

* * *

At the Ponyville Dam, the water passed from the reservoir above and through its turbines before emptying out into the river below, just as it did every day since the dam was first built.

But then something began to stir within the waters below the dam. The water spiraled into a small whirlpool before erupting into a large water devil.

From it emerged a humanoid creature endowed in a dark-blue robe like that of a wizard. It was green and frog-like with yellow slit eyes and a yellow beak for a mouth. Though its wizard hat concealed it, its head was concave like a bowl and was filled to the brim with water. And though its robe concealed it, his back had a shell like that of a turtle. In its slimy, webbed-hand grasp it held a wooden staff with a blue sapphire sitting atop it.

This creature was a kappa, and from his appearance, he was a wizard.

The kappa gazed upon the dam mischievously and raised his staff. From the sapphire a blue light was emitted into the clouds above, which soon turned dark. As he swiveled his staff in his hands, the clouds began to circle with it, growing darker and darker. From them roared thunder and crashed lightning as from them poured rain.

The creature cackled in amusement.

* * *

The day passed as Twilight and Spike attended to the library. The clock struck 5 o'clock as they began stacking books back onto the shelves.

Xander closed his book and opened his pocket watch. It was indeed five o'clock: closing time for the library. He gazed out the window to see the rain and wind pounding against it, the sky outside darkened with storm clouds. He set aside his book and swept all his belongings into his satchel, which he then threw over his shoulder before stepping up from his chair and heading to the door.

He passed Twilight atop a ladder re-shelving a handful of books under her arm.

"Good Night, Xander," she said.

Xander reached for the door before replying, "Night."

Opening the library door, Xander let a gust of wind rush in, causing a paper from his satchel to fly onto the library floor. Twilight took notice of the paper upon putting away the last book, merely seconds after Xander had left. She walked over to pick it up and inspect it. The paper was clearly a page torn from an old book, as its tattered edges and dirty yellowish-brown color indicated. Upon it was a drawing of a crystal amulet hanging from a chain. The words written were of an unknown language, or at least unknown to Twilight.

She ran to the door and peered outside. She saw Xander fight against wind and rain, having already passed the tree outside. She rushed out after him, waving at him with the page in her hoof.

"Xander!" she called.

She had managed to catch his attention as he stopped and turned. Before Twilight could reach him, a lightning bolt intercepted them. Twilight gave a loud yelp as she recoiled backwards onto the ground. Picking herself out of the mud, she saw the nearby tree falling towards her.

Before Twilight could react, Xander rushed in front of her and stopped the tree with his magic. Straining under its pressure, he began pushing the tree back in place and used his magic to graft the fallen portion back on. He turned to Twilight and offered his hoof to pick her up.

"Xander," she panted, both the fall and the shock having left her breathless. "You saved my life."

"Don't mention it," Xander replied nonchalantly. He looked at the page Twilight was carrying. "I believe that's mine."

Twilight looked back and forth between Xander and the page, her mind still not straight after what had just happened.

"Oh yeah, this." She handed the page to him. "You dropped it back in the library. Not from any book I know of."

Xander accepted the page and stuffed it into his satchel. "It's from an old book of mine, one that's very important to me. Thanks."

Before either of them could say another word, a pony donned in a yellow rain coat came barreling towards them. It was Applejack.

"Twilight!" she called out to them. "Every pony needs to come down to the river—quick! It's an emergency!"

* * *

Every pony in Ponyville had gathered by the riverbank clad in yellow raincoats. They formed a single line as they passed sandbags to one another, stacking them into a wall along the river, its waters beginning to overcome its natural boundaries. Despite the wind and rain working against them, the ponies continued to fill and pass sandbags.

It was this scene that Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Xander came rushing into to assist. They were all now clad in yellow raincoats—except Xander, who remained in his normal clothes.

"So what's going on?" Twilight asked.

"It's a flash flood!" Applejack replied. "We need to get these here sandbags up to keep the river from overflowing."

"Oh my!" were the only words that passed Twilight's lips.

"You're telling me," Applejack continued. "But that ain't the worst. There's a lot of talk afoot about how this storm may cause the dam to overflow. It just can't handle all this here rain and wind. Taint built for weather like this."

Twilight then looked down to scratch her chin. "But then why would the Pegasus ponies create this weather?"

Those very words summoned Rainbow Dash to her side. "We didn't! Not one pegasus planned on having any rain today—not even a shower. What's going on here is beyond our control."

Xander gazed upriver toward the Everfree Forest where the dam stood. He noticed a circle of black clouds circling above it.

"Those clouds," he uttered before racing up along the river towards the circling clouds.

"Xander?!" Twilight exclaimed before pursing him, and eventually running alongside him. "Where are you going?"

"Your friend said this storm wasn't created by the Pegasi," he said. "This isn't a natural storm. Someone or something must be creating it."

* * *

The wind and rain came crashing down the hardest near the dam, which leaked profusely as cracks ran alongside it and the water from above overflowed.

The kappa wizard remained floating in the air and laughed as he surveyed his handiwork. "Good, good. Just a little more wind and rain and the dam will completely collapse. Soon Ponyville will become Sea-Ponyville!"

"Not if I stop you first." A voice yelled from behind him.

The wizard turned to see Xander and Twilight glaring at him from across the ravine.

"Who are you and what do you think you're doing?" Xander demanded.

The wizard cracked a wicked grin as he faced them. "Oh me?" He placed his hand on his chest and gave a bow. "Why I'm the ever-so maniacal wizard, Squish. I was swimming up this river on my way home when I came across this dam. It was in my way, so I decided to destroy it."

Xander sneered. "What type of hogwash is that?"

Squish placed one hand on his hip in dismay. "Oh, you don't care for that explanation? How about this: I wanted to buy some real estate in Ponyville. The location is great, but the climate is too dry. So I decided to moisten things up a little."

He shook his head. "Look, does it really matter why I'm doing this? I'm clearly evil."

He pointed to the dam with his scepter. "And in any minute that dam will go bye-bye, along with all the ponies and the town downriver with it."

Xander's horn surged with a dark blue aura as he stood his ground, preparing for an attack. "Not if I stop you first."

With a yell, he launched a fireball towards Squish, who countered with a shield of purple light, bouncing the fireball back.

Xander and Twilight leapt out of the way of the fireball as it hit the ravine, causing rock and debris to fall beneath their feet.

Xander took another shot at Squish with a lightning bolt attack, this time striking the wizard and sending him hurling back into the other side of the ravine and plummeting into the river below.

A few seconds underwater, and Squish reappeared from out of the river, his cloak soaking wet, but his face burning red hot.

"So you want to play hardball, eh?" he yelled, waving his fist and thrusting his staff forward. "I'll show you hard—"

Before he could finish, he noticed as the dam began to give way, cracking and leaking more profusely.

"Grr, never mind." He said, fluffing his cloak. "My deed is done. I'll deal with you two next time."

With that, Squish spun around like a tornado and disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

The dam completely fissured in half and gave way as a surge of water sprang forth, destroying the front of the dam completely.

"The dam!" Twilight gasped.

Xander immediately dove into the ravine. Before he could splash into the water below, his entire body surged with a dark blue aura, causing him to levitate just above the surface. Using his magic, he held back all the water spilling forth from the collapsed dam. His face scrunched and his forehead creased and ran with sweat as he struggled under the sheer intensity.

His horn and body shone brighter as he pushed the water further and further back until it was back into the dam from whence it sprang forth. As his body shone even brighter, he opened his bloodshot eyes and scanned the river around him, finding broken bits of the dam. He closed his eyes once more, and with his magic, began picking up most of the broken pieces and setting them back in place, almost like a puzzle.

Twilight watched from above. She could barely believe that Xander could simultaneously rebuild the dam while holding back all that water. But she knew he couldn't continue alone. She noticed him beginning to tire and wear out as his aura started to fade. If he stopped now, the dam, being incomplete, would only collapse again, causing the water to barrel back down the river, and taking Xander along with it.

She had to take action. Her horn glowing purple, she picked up the remainder of the broken dam pieces with her magic and set them back in place. In less than a minute, both she and Xander finished putting the dam back into place, and it stood good as new, almost as if it had never been tampered with.

Xander's aura completely faded. Before he could fall unconscious into the river, a purple aura surrounded him, catching him and pulling him back up. Twilight placed him on her back.

The rain and wind soon ceased. It did not die down. It simply ceased. And the dark clouds above faded, leaving only the sun and blue sky. With Squish gone, so left his spell, and everything returned to normal.

* * *

Wrapped within the warmth and comfort of her purple bathrobe, Twilight stood before her fireplace and watched as the kettle hanging over the fire glowed red. Once a steady pillar of steam started billowing from its spout, she took the kettle off the fire and from it poured hot chocolate into three mugs. She offered one mug to Spike, who lay sprawled on the rug in front of the fireplace like a cat, and offered another to Xander, who sat in an armchair wrapped in a spare bathrobe.

Xander accepted his mug. "Thanks."

"What you did back there was extremely brave, if not extremely foolish." Twilight took a sip from her mug.

Xander smirked, having already taken a sip of his. "Trust me, I've been in far worse situations, and I managed to make it out alive."

Twilight sauntered to an arm chair adjacent to Xander. "Well, you'd barely make it back to your house alive if I allow you to head back tonight. The rain may have stopped, but it's still cold and damp out, and after all that time getting soaked in the wind, rain, and river, the last thing you need is a chance to catch pneumonia. Be thankful I brought you here to dry and warm up."

Xander only continued smirking. "And I assume you want another thank you for that as well?"

Twilight gently shook her head. "No. But since we have some time together, I'd like to know what you've been researching her at my library for the past three days."

Xander shrugged. "If you insist."

His horn glowed as he took the torn page out of his satchel hanging from his armchair and passed it to Twilight.

"It's the Amulet of Purity," Xander said, "an ancient artifact of extraordinary power, older than the Elements of Harmony themselves. Not much is known about what it does exactly. Only a few ancient tomes and scrolls mention it, and they tell very little. I've been searching through every library in Equestria for information about it, and, well, let's just say that search led me to this library here."

Spike had stood up from his spot on the rug to sit next to Twilight and study the page for himself.

He turned to Xander. "Wow. This must really mean a lot to you."

"In a way, it does." Xander replied. "My father dedicated his whole life to finding it—that is, until his life ended."

Twilight shot her gaze at Xander. "He died?"

"Killed, actually," Xander replied.

Twilight covered her mouth and quietly gasped.

Xander hung his head. "I remember that night all too well. Some thug broke into our house, burned it down, and killed my father. That page is the only thing that remained. Ever since then, I've spent my life trying to finish what my father started by finding that amulet. I don't even care about keeping it or anything. I don't even care what it does. What matters most is finding it and fulfilling my father's legacy."

Spike raised his eyebrow. "And how close are you to accomplishing that."

"At this point, the details are still fuzzy." Xander rested his chin upon his hoof. "But I have a feeling I'm getting closer."

Twilight returned the page back to Xander. "Well, feel free to stay as long as you need to. And I'll be happy to offer my assistance."

She gleefully placed her hoof on her bosom. "Research is my specialty."

Xander smirked. "Thanks for the offer, but I don't need any pony's help. I'm perfectly capable on my own."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Really now? If it wasn't for me, you'd be in a watery grave by now. I knew you were getting tired back there and couldn't hold back that water any longer, let alone rebuild that dam. I had to step in and help."

Xander merely closed his eyes and shirked Twilight off. "Well, it's not like I asked for it. I told you I've been in worse situations."

Twilight glared at him for a second, but decided to stop there. The last thing she needed was a heated argument.

She stood out of her chair and calmly made her way to the stairs, Spike following behind her.

"It's getting late," she said. "I'm heading to bed. Feel free to sleep on the couch. Sorry if offered my help if you didn't ask for it."

Xander said nothing.

Twilight and Spike made their way upstairs and into the bedroom.

"Xander's a cool guy," Spike commented. "But he's awfully stubborn. Not too friendly either."

Twilight shook her head gently. "Yes, but I was just like that, once."

* * *

Moonlight shone through the stain glass windows of a throne room, illuminating the dais situated within it. Upon that dais sat a throne, and upon that throne sat a tall, slender mare, her figure shrouded in the throne's shadow. The only other feature of hers that was visible were her red glowing eyes.

A plume of purple smoke exploded in the room's center. The smoke dissipated to reveal Squish, who knelt as he approached the mare upon her throne.

"My mistress, I have finally located the whereabouts of the colt," he said with his head bowed in reverence. "I managed to draw him out with my magic, of course."

The mare nodded.

"Excellent," she replied in a voice as cool as ice. "The artifact he is searching for is precisely what we need, so it is imperative that we monitor him at all costs. Time is drawing near, and soon the Dark Stallion will return in all his glory to reclaim what is rightfully ours."

* * *

_**Dash:**__ Hey it's me, Rainbow Dash! Wow, that pegasus came out of nowhere. Good thing I was around to save him, otherwise he would have been a pancake. Say, I never got your name._

_**Sky Wind:**__ My name is Sky Wind, and I'm afraid that's all I can remember._

_**Dash:**__ You mean you can't remember a thing? Well don't sweat it! I'll make sure you get your memories back in ten seconds flat._

_Next time on My Little Pony: "My Name Is Sky Wind. I Remember Nothing Else!"_

_Hey, did anyone ever tell you you're kind of cute?_

* * *

**My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and characters © Hasbro and Lauren Faust  
Xander © Me  
Skywind © ex626AKAKeon  
Ninja Star © ninjaninjanoob23**

**Voice Credits**

**Twilight Sparkle ...Tara Strong  
Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy...Andrea Libman  
Applejack, Rainbow Dash...Ashleigh Ball  
Rarity, Princess Luna...Tabitha St. Germain  
Princess Celestia...Nicole Oliver  
Spike...Cathy Weseluck**  
**Xander...Vic Mignogna  
Sky Wind...Jason Griffith  
Ninja Star...Dave Wittenberg  
Squish...Samuel Vincent  
Swoosh...Derek Stephen Prince  
Slash...Roger Labon Jackson  
Shadow Mare...Susanne Blakeslee  
Black Stallion...Ron Perlman**


	2. Episode 02

**_My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_ presents**

_**The Black Stallion**_

**Episode 02: My Name Is Sky Wind. I Remember Nothing Else.**

* * *

_Last time on My Little Pony:_

_When a new unicorn named Xander began frequenting the Ponyville library, who he was and what he was researching raised suspicions among Twilight and her friends. Meanwhile, a magical storm was conjured by a kappa wizard, Squish, in order to destroy the town dam. His attempts were thwarted by the new unicorn. Afterwards, Xander revealed how he has been searching for the Amulet of Purity, an ancient artifact of untold power. Will he find what he's looking for in Ponyville, and what of this new foe, Squish?_

* * *

Twilight awoke in the middle of the night to use the little filly's room. Passing by her bedroom door, she noticed a faint light shining from downstairs. Stepping outside, she saw Xander hunched over a table, his head resting upon a book like a pillow. Apparently, he had decided to do some late night studying and had fallen asleep while doing so.

Twilight quietly giggled to herself before heading downstairs. She used her magic to levitate a blanket and drape it over Xander's shoulders. She gently leaned over the table to blow out the candle that had by now nearly burnt out.

"Good night," she whispered into Xander's ears before making her way back upstairs.

* * *

The next morning, Rainbow Dash was busy zipping across the sky to clear away the excess clouds that had formed during yesterday's storm. As always, she had cleared away the clouds in record time. She flew over to a lone cloud to sit and admire her handiwork.

"Dashie girl, you've really outdone yourself this time!" she bragged to herself. "I challenged myself to clear this sky in ten seconds flat, and I did. Naturally!"

Just then, a loud crash erupted behind her, nearly causing her to fall off her cloud. She turned to see something-or rather, someone-plummeting toward the ground. Even though it had flown past her at breaking speed, Dash recognized the falling object as a pegasus.

In a gasp, Dash dove off the cloud and after him. She soon gained enough speed to fly alongside him as the two of them began nearing the ground. Inspecting him, she noticed that his eyes were barely open and his wings were lifelessly limp. Dash wrapped her legs around his body and lifted her wings, causing the two pegasi to glide across the ground before either could crash into it. Unfortunately for them, they flew into the marketplace, crashing through a series of carts and stalls until finally crash landing into a stall of rugs.

The crowd around them began to panic as they crowded around the two fallen pegasi.

Dash had just enough strength remaining in her to pick her head up and look at the pegasus she had saved. He was purple with wavy black hair, black ears, wings, and hooves. His eyes, barely open, were green like his cutie mark—a gust of wind.

Those were the most details Rainbow Dash could recognize before she quickly collapsed and passed out.

* * *

The hospital doors burst open as Twilight and the others rushed toward the hospital desk.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed, nearly pouncing on the desk and Nurse Redheart behind it. "Where is she? What happened to her? Is she okay?"

"She's doing just fine," Nurse Redheart said. "The other pegasus too. Their injuries are minor, nothing major. They should be fine in a few days."

Twilight and the others gave a collective sigh of relief.

"However—" Redheart continued.

"What?" Twilight asked as a feeling of dread washed over her.

"The other pegasus is suffering from amnesia," Redheart finished. "Poor thing can't remember a thing aside from his own name. Must have been the impact."

Redheart sat up from the desk and motioned for the five to follow her. "If you want to see them, they're down this way."

She led the five down the hallway and to the room where Rainbow Dash was staying. Donned in a hospital gown and wrapped in bandages, Dash sat upright in her bed as she read a Daring Do book, barely noticing the others until they reached her bed.

She peered up from her book and immediately lit up in her expression. "Twilight!"

"How are you feeling, Dash?" Twilight asked, placing her hoof on the bedrail.

"Well, I've felt better, but no worse than the last time I was in the hospital," Dash replied. "But I'm only a little scratched this time. Doctor said I should be up and flying in a few days. Nothing can keep this pegasus down."

"So what ever happened, dear?" Rarity asked.

"I was clearing the sky, minding my own business, when I saw this guy falling towards earth like a meteorite." Rainbow Dash pointed to the purple pegasus sitting in the adjacent hospital bed. He was also sitting upright, but was staring at his bed sheet, only glancing at the others for a brief second before returning his gaze downward.

"If it wasn't for me," Dash continued, "Sky Wind here would be a pony pancake—with strawberry syrup!"

Pinkie Pie licked her lips. "Mmm! Pancakes."

"The nurse said he lost his memory," Twilight said.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash replied. "I tried talking to him, but I haven't been able to get anything out of him other than his name. I'll say this though: he's more talkative than my last hospital roommate."

"You think we can try talking to him?" Applejack asked. "Poor fella seems kinda lonesome there."

"Go ahead." Dash motioned to Sky Wind. "Yo, Sky Wind! I have some friends here who would like to talk to you."

Sky Wind turned his gaze to the others as they surrounded his bed. He sank back a little with a blush.

"Umm, hello there," he whispered timidly.

"Hello, Sky Wind," Twilight greeted. "My name's Twilight Sparkle. We're friends of Rainbow Dash."

The other five ponies introduced themselves.

Sky Wind stared down for a moment before looking back up. "Nice to meet you all. My name's Sky Wind, but that's all I can remember, I'm afraid. I can't remember anything else."

"Do you remember where you live?" Twilight asked. "I'm guessing you're from Cloudsdale."

Sky Wind could only shake his head. "If I am, I can't remember."

"You remember who your family is?" Applejack asked.

"What made you fall from the sky?" Fluttershy asked.

"What you were doing before you fell?" Rarity asked.

"Who put the bop in the bop-she-bop?" Pinkie Pie asked.

The others looked at her in confusion.

"What?" Pinkie asked nonchalantly. "I have a hard time remembering that, too."

Sky Wind shook his head. "The only other thing I remember before blacking out was being saved by an angel."

"Oh, you weren't saved by an angel," Fluttershy replied. "You were saved by Rainbow Dash here."

Sky Wind blushed. "Like I said, by an angel."

Everyone else gave a collective gasp.

Rainbow Dash held her hoof to her face to hide her blush. "Aww! It was nothing. I saved plenty of ponies before, all in like 20 seconds flat."

"Umm, Sky Wind," Fluttershy asked. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but how does it feel having amnesia?"

Sky Wind gazed down again, his mood darkening once more. "Scary, especially knowing I'm in a place I've never been before with ponies I never met, not to mention that I don't know when I'll get my memories back. The nurse said it could be anywhere from a few hours or a few days or even weeks or months. There's a chance I'll never get them back. That's the scariest feeling of all."

"Ah, don't sweat it," Rainbow Dash said. "You can hang with me and my friends until you get your memories back."

Sky Wind looked at her, nearly blushing. "You mean that?"

"Well I can't exactly leave you alone to fend for yourself, now can I?" Dash replied. "Once we're out of here, you can crash at my place and work with me as long as you need to."

For the first time since he could remember, which was faint for his condition, Sky Wind gave a smile. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash."

* * *

By the end of the week, the two pegasi were dismissed from the hospital. Sky Wind stayed at Rainbow Dash's cloud palace where he was nursed until his injuries healed. A few days later, he and Rainbow Dash went outside to practice their flying.

"Now that you're feeling better, it's time for a little physical therapy," Dash explained. "First things first: flying. You do remember how to fly, do you?"

Sky Wind chuckled. "Of course I remember that," he said, flapping his wings and floating over the ground.

"Good!" Dash pointed to a nearby tree. "Then you'll have no problem flying over there."

Dash soon found herself spinning in place as Sky Wind zipped past her. When she stopped, she saw him reclining against the tree, obviously proud of his feat.

"Not bad!" Dash said, clearly impressed.

She pointed to a cloud right above her. "Now try flying to that—" Before she could finish her sentence, Sky Wind was sitting on the cloud looking down on her from above. "—Cloud?"

"Am I doing okay?" Sky Wind asked.

Rainbow Dash smiled as she placed both hooves on her hips. "I have to say you're pretty fast—though not as fast as me."

"Oh really?" Sky Wind asked with a laugh, leaping off the cloud and performing two summersaults before landing on the ground. "Prove it!"

Those were the two words Rainbow Dash loved to hear the most, which showed through her devilish smile.

"You—me—race." She pointed to a mountain upon the far-off horizon. "All the way to that mountaintop."

Sky Wind got into position as an athlete. "It's on."

Rainbow Dash stood next to him in a similar position. "When I say go—GO!"

She had already taken off with her rainbow trail lingering behind.

Sky Wind was briefly caught off guard before taking off right behind her. "Hey, no fair! That's cheating!"

"All's fair in love and war," Dash yelled back at him.

Sky Wind soon caught up with her. "That depends: is this love, or war?"

The two flew neck-to-neck, each one trying to out-fly the other. One moment, Dash was in the lead; then, it was Sky. In less than a minute, both had reached the mountain, collapsing next to each other onto a nearby cloud.

"I win!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, raising her hooves, laughing.

"No, me!" Sky Wind rebutted, also laughing.

Both lay next to each other, laughing, trying to catch their breath. Neither of them cared who really won. They were clearly having fun together.

"You know, it's been a while since I raced some pony like that," Rainbow Dash said. "Except maybe Applejack, but she's an earth pony, not a pegasus like you."

"Yeah, I can't remember the last time I had fun racing some pony like you either," Sky Wind added. "Then again, I can't really remember anything."

Both giggled.

"Then I think it's safe to tell you that I'm the fastest pony in Ponyville—Equestria even!" Dash said. "There's no one faster than me."

A black blur suddenly soared in between Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind, spinning them around in circles and nearly causing them to fall of their cloud. Once they had stopped, they both held their heads as their eyes rolled within them.

Rainbow Dash shook her head furiously to snap out of her dizziness, then glared angrily at the creature racing away.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, buzzard brain!" She yelled, shaking her hoof at him.

Upon hearing Rainbow Dash, the black blur halted. It turned to face the two pegasi, revealing himself to be a humanoid creature with the wings and head of a black crow—a crow tengu.

His body was covered with black feathers, and he was dressed in a purple robe with a long, flowing red scarf around his neck. His hands and feet were talons. In his right hand, he held a khakkhara—a staff with a golden ring on top with several other rings dangling within it.

The tengu glared at the two pegasi with his red eyes, the left one with a deep red scar over it. He snarled, flying back towards the two.

Sky Wind took a nervous gulp. Rainbow Dash remained angry.

"Youse talking to me?" the tengu demanded in a gruff Brooklyn accent.

"Who else could it be?" Rainbow Dash replied as she placed her forehooves on her hips. "You're the only one who went flying by like a maniac."

"I guess I did," the tengu replied, staring down the two ponies menacingly. "Youse two got a problem with that?"

Sky Wind shirked back, but Rainbow Dash stood her ground.

"I have nothing against flying fast," she said. "But if you want to do that, you need to watch where you're going. We all have to share the same sky, you know!"

The tengu scratched his chin, then smirked. "I guess youse is right. I'm awfully sorry. The name's Swoosh. Here, allow me and my buddies to offer you a token of my sincerest apology."

With that, Swoosh put his talon to his beak and whistled. All around him and the two pegasi appeared explosions of purple smoke, from which appeared violet pegasi with glowing red eyes. Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind shirked back in fright.

"How's about a trip to the school of hard knocks," Swoosh laughed as he began circling the two. "C'mon boys! Let's send these here two lovebirds for a spin!"

The purple pegasi followed suit and began flying around Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind at break-neck speeds. Before either of them could realize it, they were trapped within a vortex, spinning around furiously until being spat out. The two fell upon a nearby cloud where, upon crash landing, they turned back to see a tornado furiously spinning behind them.

Swoosh and the shadowy pegasi stopped spinning around, and with a mighty flap of their wings, sent the twister flying in the direction of Ponyville in the distance.

The tengu laughed like the cawing crow he was. "Alright boys, let's head out! Ponyville will soon be in Oz!"

The shadowy pegasi disappeared into clouds of smoke as he himself flew away.

Dash and Wind watched on in horror as the tornado barreled towards Ponyville.

"Oh no!" Dash exclaimed, racing off towards the twister. "We have to do something before it hits Ponyville."

"What?" Sky Wind exclaimed, chasing after her. "How are we supposed to stop a tornado?"

"If it was created by those creeps flying around in circles," Dash thought out loud, "Then maybe circling in the opposite direction will kill it."

"We're going to have to fly awfully fast to do that," Sky Wind said.

Rainbow Dash grabbed his hoof. "Then we'll have to do this together."

Sky Wind smiled upon feeling her touch.

The two soared ahead and began circling the tornado in the opposite direction it was spinning. The two held onto each other's hooves as they flew faster and faster. Both felt as if they could barely continue, as if the centrifugal force would slingshot them away in a heartbeat. But they persevered, the grasp each had on the other encouraging them to go on.

Over in Ponyville, everyone was in sheer panic.

"A disaster!" Daisy screamed, "A horrible, horrible disaster!"

"The horror, the horror!" Lily screamed.

"It's heading right towards us!" Rose Luck cried.

But as the tornado approached the city limits, it began to gradually slow down until eventually dying off completely.

All the town ponies stopped, astonished by the sudden change of weather. They noticed where the tornado used to be was an encircling rainbow and dark trail, which soon died down, revealing Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind. The two collapsed to the ground, exhausted from their heroic feat.

The pegasi were greeted by a giant cheering crowd who scooped the both of them up and began carrying them into town.

"Three cheers for Rainbow Dash and her brave friend!" They cheered.

Rainbow Dash picked her head up as she was carried off, looking across to Sky Wind being carried beside her. He too, looked over at her. Both we clearly tired, but happy, smiling at each other as the ponies around them cheered.

* * *

Later that day, Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind sat upon a cloud as they watched the sunset in the distance.

"What a day!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You're first time flying and you manage to stop a tornado."

Sky Wind giggled. "Well, to be fair, I received a lot of help from you."

The two sighed as they returned their attention back to the setting sun.

Sky Wind then returned his gaze to Dash. "Speaking of which, do you remember that tengu that started the whole mess, and those strange pegasi who were with him?"

"What about them?" Dash asked.

Sky Wind gazed into the corner of his eyes, slightly unsure of what he was about to say. "For some reason, I feel as though I've seen them before."

Dash looked at him with one eyebrow raised. "Huh? What do you mean?"

Sky Wind returned his gaze to her. "I'm not sure, but I think I may have known them from somewhere. They just seemed awfully familiar." He hung his head. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just trying too hard to remember my lost memories."

"Well don't try too hard," Dash replied, "Otherwise, you'll end up remembering things that never really happened in the first place. I know you really want your memory back, but I guarantee you'll get it back eventually."

Sky Wind sighed and nodded in agreement. "Now that you mention it, I do remember one thing."

Dash turned to Sky Wind, eyebrow raised. "What's that?"

Sky Wind smiled ear to ear with a giggle. "I remember beating you in that race earlier."

Dash scoffed. "Now you really are remembering things that never happen!"

Sky Wind shook his head. "Oh, but I do remember that quite clearly. I beat you in that race."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

The two gazed into each other's eyes—Dash with slight annoyance, Sky Wind with mischeviousness.

Dash flapped her wings twice and faced the sunset, getting into a runner's position. "Well, let's settle this in another race. You, me, the last cloud on the horizion."

Sky Wind also assumed a runner's position. "Fine. When I say go—GO!"

This time, Dash was left spinning as Sky Wind left a dark trail lingering behind.

Rainbow Dash regained herself and took off after him. "Hey, no fair!"

The two laughed as they raced towards the setting sun.

* * *

_**Twilight Sparkle:** Hey, it's me, Twilight._

_**Fluttershy:** Oh my! There's been so many robberies in Ponyville lately._

_**Pinkie Pie:** It must have been ninjas!_

_**Twilight Sparkle:** Pinkie, it was probably just a burglar._

_**Pinkie Pie:** I still say it was ninjas._

_**Twilight Sparkle:** Oh, it is ninjas! Gasp! And they have us surrounded. How are we going to get out of this one?_

_**Pinkie Pie:** Hey! Who's the guy with the sword?_

_**Fluttershy:** Next time on My Little Pony: "Enter Ninja Star, The Stalwart Swordpony."_

_**Pinkie Pie:** Fluttershy, are you blushing at him?!_


	3. Episode 03

**My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic presents**

**The Black Stallion**

**Episode 03: Enter Ninja Star, The Stalwart Swordsman**

* * *

_Last time on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:_

_A mysterious pegasus falls from the sky and is saved by Rainbow Dash. He reveals that he has lost his memory except for his name, Sky Wind. Dash agrees to look after him until he regains his memories. During one of their flights together, they encounter a villainous tengu who forms a tornado with the help of shadow pegasi. Fortunately, the two pegasi manage to stop the tornado before it reaches Ponyville. Will Sky Wind ever regain his lost memories? And what of the griffon and shadow pegasi? Stay tuned and find out._

* * *

Twilight and Spike were sound asleep in their beds when a sudden breeze pushed open their bedroom window. Through it appeared a dark figure that slinked into the room and toward a nearby table. On it lay a magnifying glass with a purple diamond on its handle. The shadowy figure snatched the magnifying glass and disappeared into the night, disturbing neither Twilight nor Spike from their slumber.

* * *

Over at her cottage, Fluttershy was cuddling with Angel Bunny while snug in her bed when a breeze opened her window. A similar dark figure entered her room and sneaked over to her dresser, snatching a comb with a butterfly gem before quietly slinking back out the window.

* * *

The next morning, the town square clamored with worried and angry ponies. Mayor Mare stood at her podium, motioning for the crowd to quiet and calm down.

"Settle down now, everypony!" She exclaimed. "One pony at a time!"

"Somepony stole my earrings," one pony in the crowd exclaimed.

"They stole my favorite ring," another said.

"My crystal glass is gone!" yet another said.

The mayor took out her gavel and struck her podium with it. "Order, everypony! I know there have been a slew of robberies in Ponyville, and I assure you, the police are working their hardest to find the culprit. Unfortunately, their office is understaffed this year, so it may take them longer to solve this case."

The mayor's words barely placed the crowd as ease, as they all continued to clamor in confused cacophony. Amidst the unruly crowd stood a colt with a conical Asian hat slanted to conceal his eyes. He stood in silence while the rest of the crowd rambled on.

* * *

Twilight Sparkle and her friends had gathered at Sugarcube Corner. Twilight paced the floor while the other five sat around a table. Rarity held open a newspaper with a headline about the robberies.

Fluttershy studied the headline. "So it looks like we're not the only ones who were robbed last night."

Twilight continued pacing the floor, deep in thought. "Yes, whoever stole from me and you also stole from other ponies in town."

Applejack shook her head. "It's a mighty shame that the police department is understaffed this year."

"Forget the police," Pinkie Pie slammed her hoof on the table and raised her other hoof in the air. "This sounds like a job for The Mysterious Mare Do Well!"

Rarity lowered her newspaper. "Pinkie, dear, we are the Mysterious Mare Do Well."

"Oh!" Pinkie dropped her other hoof and shamefully lowered her head, which she quickly lifted back up. "Well then, maybe it's a job for just us."

"As if," Rainbow Dash sneered. "Saving a bus from flying off a cliff is one thing, but catching a burglar is quite another."

"Burglars?" Pinkie Pie scoffed, rolling her eyes. "This is clearly the handiwork of ninjas!"

Twilight stopped pacing to glare at Pinkie. "Pinkie Pie, it was probably just a burglar, not ninjas."

Pinkie tilted her head and raised her eyebrow. "And how do you know that? Were you there?"

Twilight just shook her head as she continued pacing.

"Burglars or ninjas," Dash said, "It's still going to be a hassle trying to catch them."

"Not quite," Twilight said as she stopped pacing. "I think catching the crook may be quite simple."

"Whatever do you mean, dear?" Rarity asked.

"Don't you see what all those thefts have in common?" Twilight asked. "My magnifying glass, Fluttershy's comb, all the other jewelry in town?"

"What about them?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Crystals," Twilight exclaimed. "They all had crystals. Whoever is robbing everypony is stealing things made from crystal. So if we want to catch them, we just have to lure them with something made from crystal. Fortunately for us, there's one pony here who owns plenty of those."

Everyone's gaze shifted towards—

"Me?" Rarity asked.

"Of course," Twilight walked toward her. "And strangely enough, the thief hasn't stolen from you yet."

Pinkie leapt onto the table. "Maybe because she's the thief!" she exclaimed, pointing accusingly at Rarity.

Rarity only returned a cold stare, which was enough to force Pinkie to slink back off the table and into her chair.

"Or not." She quietly muttered, embarrassed.

"Which is why we simply need to lure the thief with the most exquisite crystal item that Rarity owns," Twilight continued.

Rarity placed her hoof under her chin as she contemplated. "Well, there's the three gem tiara that goes with my Gala dress. But it just seems too risky. I'd hate to have that stolen."

"Don't worry, Rarity," Twilight said. "We'll catch the thief before he can even touch it."

On that note, the six ponies left. They passed another table where sat the colt with the Asian hat, which concealed his eyes. He took a sip of his tea before slowly lifting his gaze toward the six, watching their every move intently as they left the store.

* * *

Later that night, as Rarity slept soundly in her bed, her three gem tiara rested upon her boutique, glistening in the moonlight that shone freely through her open bedroom window. All was silent, save for perhaps a few snores from Rarity.

The silence was quickly broken by the sound of a heavy breeze rushing through her bedroom. Three puffs of purple smoke appeared, and from them, three dark figures. The center one paced towards the boutique and slowly bent over to pick up the tiara—but before he could, a large net fell upon him and his comrades. The three soon found themselves dangling from within the net as it hung from the ceiling by a rope.

The bedroom lights turned on as Twilight flipped the light switch, revealing Pinkie Pie in the corner holding the rope that held up the net and the trapped perpetrators within it.

"Gotcha!" she exclaimed.

Rarity threw off her covers and cast away her sleep mask as she leapt out of bed. She waltzed over to the net, inspecting the three captured perpetrators. "Good heavens! What type of burglars are they?"

The three burglars in question were violet horses with red eyes. They had no other distinguishing characteristics aside from their ninja attire.

Twilight walked over to take a closer look. "They look like ninjas."

"I told you they were ninjas!" Pinkie boasted.

A ninja throwing knife flew into the room and severed the rope holding up the net, dropping it onto the girls beneath. Once freed, one ninja lurched toward the boutique and snatched the tiara. The three then bolted to the window, where sat the ninja that threw the knife, and leapt out along with their companion.

The four ninjas landed gracefully on the ground and began racing forward when from out of the bushes flew a lasso, snarring one of the ninjas by the legs and tripping him. From the bushes sprang Applejack, who, with a mighty "Yee-haw!" wrestled the ninja to the ground, kicking up dust. When the dust settled, the ninja was on his back with his legs tied.

Apple Jack tightened the rope, making sure it was secure. "Well, I'd reckon that's a new record for me!"

The ninja exploded in a cloud of purple smoke, forcing Applejack to recoil. "What they hay!?"

The smoke dissipated, revealing a tied-up log instead of a ninja.

"Dang it!" AppleJack exclaimed. "Why do I keep mistaking logs for people?"

The door to Rarity's house burst open as Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity bolted outside. They noticed Apple Jack laying on the ground aside the log, then turned their attention to the three ninja running towards a distant alleyway.

"They're getting away!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Not for long!" Twilight replied.

As the ninjas neared the alley, a large net appeared before them, being held on each side by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

"Gotcha Now!" Rainbow Dash boasted.

Before the three ninjas could be ensnared, one ninja drew his katana blade and slashed the net, causing Dash and Fluttershy to stumble backwards. The three ninja continued into the alleyway with the six ponies catching up with them.

Twilight and the others continued pursuing the ninjas though the alleyway and out into the middle of the town square, where the three halted and turned to face the six, who in turn halted, clearly confused.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash wondered aloud. "Are you three giving up?"

One of the ninjas signaled to the sky. Throughout the town square exploded multiple clouds of purple smoke from which appeared more ninja. Some were on the ground. Others stood on roof tops. But all clearly had the six ponies outnumbered and surrounded.

Twilight gulped, her ears drooping. "No, Dash, it looks like they're only getting warmed up."

A maniacal laugh echoed through the night air. The six ponies turned their attention to one of the rooftops where another cloud of purple smoke appeared, clearing to reveal a large purple praying mantis.

"Bearers of the Elements of Harmony," he announced, leaping from the rooftop, performing several summersaults before landing gracefully with his two claws crossed like a pair of swords. "Like a fly into a spider's web, like a sardine before an angler fish's light, you have fallen within our trap."

"We fell into your trap?" Pinkie Pie asked. "But you were supposed to fall into our trap—or at least you three were." She pointed to the three ninjas. "If we knew there were more of you, we would have gotten a bigger net."

"Pinkie!" Twilight interrupted, clearly frustrated.

"Oh, but it is you who have fallen into our trap," the mantis said. "We have been searching throughout Equestria for the likes of you, and once we discovered your location, we decided to lure you out with our string of thefts, in hopes that you would try to find us. And find us you have. For now we have you."

"Wait a second," Twilight shook her head, confused. "All those thefts were merely a rouse to trap us?"

"That is correct," the mantis answered, crossing his arms in pride, his chest swelling.

"But why not target us individually?" Twilight asked. "You were clearly able to break into our own houses and steal our stuff. Why not just kidnap us that way?"

The mantis scowled, his red slit eyes furrowed. "You dare question my ingenious trap!" He pointed his claw at the six. "Seize them at once."

At once the ninjas charged at the six, who stood with their backs against one another. They could only shirk back in fear as the ninjas approached them.

Before any of the ninjas could touch even a hair on them, a brown blur sped into the fray, intercepting each ninja with a silver flash that made them disappear into wisps of purple smoke. When all the approaching ninjas had been vanquished, the brown blur stopped.

Standing before the six was a tall beige earth pony with a brown mane and hazel eyes. His cutie mark consisted of three black ninja throwing stars. He wore a long flowing black scarf, two steel armlets, and crimson helmet and shoulder plates. In his teeth he held a samurai sword, the very one he used to vanquish the ninjas.

The mantis gave a crooked grin. "We meet again, Ninja Star."

The sword-wielding colt gazed at the mantis. "Same as always, Slash."

The mantis replied with a hoarse cackle. "But this time will be your last."

He charged toward the colt with his two claws raised, but before he could strike, the colt countered with his sword. The clanging of metal against metal echoed as the two exchanged a series of blows. After a rough minute, the colt took a large leap back, reached behind his back, and drew several throwing stars. He tossed them at the mantis, who leapt into the air, his wings beating fiercely, keeping himself afloat. The mantis raised his claws, which began glowing red, and crossed them.

"X-Cross Slash!" He slashed his claws, releasing two red energy beams at the colt, who countered one, but not the other, sending him several feet back.

The mantis landed, laughing at his achievement. He stopped when he heard the opening of windows and doors and noticed several houses light up.

"I'm afraid I'll have to finish you off next time," he groaned. He motioned at the remaining ninjas. "Everyone, retreat!"

The mantis vanished in a purple cloud along with the other ninjas. In his place lay Fluttershy's comb, Twilight's magnifying glass, and Rarity's tiara. Twilight paced over to the three items and picked up her magnifying glass.

"The missing items," she said.

The denizens of Ponyville began to gather outside, all clamoring in confusion.

"Twilight!" Fluttershy called.

Twilight turned to see the five standing around the swordpony, who lay clenching his chest near his bleeding shoulder.

"He's really hurt!" Fluttershy continued. "We need to get him to a doctor, quick!"

* * *

At the hospital, the ponies sat anxiously in the waiting room while Fluttershy paced back and forth. Within the next hour entered Nurse Redhear from the infirmary.

Fluttershy instantly raced towards her. "How is he doing?"

Nurse Redheart checked her clipboard. "Just a minor flesh wound that needed to be stitched and bandaged. Nothing too serious. He should make a full recovery within a few days."

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief.

"If you want to visit him, I'll gladly take you to him." Redheart motioned for the others to follow her through the hallway. "He's awake now, though slightly groggy from the anesthesia."

The six ponies followed the nurse into a room where the colt sat upright with his left shoulder bandaged. His gaze shifted to them as they approached.

"These girls would like to visit with you," the nurse addressed him before leaving the room.

Twilight was the first to approach him. "We can't thank you enough for saving us back there. What you did was amazing."

"Yeah, those were some wicked ninja moves!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "Those ninjas were like—grr!," she posed menacingly in a ninja pose, "And we were all like—oh no!" she posed as if she were cowering in fear, "And then you jump in out of nowhere," she said with a leap, "And you're like, hah!" she motioned as if slashing her sword, "and then they're all like—blegh!" she collapsed on the floor, pretending to be dead, before shooting back up, "and then the big bad guy comes in," she stood menacingly, "and he's like—ho ho! And then you gaze him down, and you're like 'Bring it on!'" she pretended to draw a sword, "and then you're both like—wha, wha, wha," she preformed several sword winging motions, "but then he gets you, and you're like—ugh!" she grasped her shoulder in pain, "but they all disappear like—" and then, somehow, Pinkie Pie disappeared in a cloud of pink smoke. (Don't ask how it happened. Even the other girls didn't know. This is Pinkie Pie, after all!)

The next thing the colt knew, Pinkie Pie appeared right next to his bedside without warning. "So—what's your name, where do you come from, and how did you get all those super special awesome ninja moves?"

"Pinkie Pie!" Twilight exclaimed, rather annoyed at Pinkie's behavior, especially in the hospital. "He just got out of the emergency room. The last thing he needs is a heart attack."

The colt merely gave a soft chuckle. "Oh, don't worry about me. I've been through far worse. But concerning your questions, my name is Ninja Star. I come from Rising Sun Island far in the east where I received my training, but I have been journeying through Equestria for quite some time."

"And what brought you here to Ponyville?" Twilight asked.

"The same reason the townspeople were robbed and you were all nearly ambushed: The Shadow Clan," Ninja Star replied.

"The Shadow Clan?" Fluttershy asked.

"Those ninjas that attacked you," Ninja Star replied. "They're a band of ruthless thugs that have been scouring the country terrorizing innocent ponies. They may appear equine, but they're really shadows magically incarnate. They can be destroyed, but not killed: for how can one kill what was never living to begin with?"

"That must explain why they were able to appear and disappear so quickly," Twilight said. "And why they vanished the way they did when you attacked them."

"All of them are merely puppets for their master, the Shadow Mare," Ninja Star continued. "She is the head of the Clan, and under her are three lackeys. The first is the kappa wizard, Squish. He is able to summon shadow unicorns, but prefers not to, as he prefers working alone, priding himself in his own magic."

"Kappa wizard?" Twilight asked, thinking for a moment before gasping. "That must have been the creep that nearly destroyed the dam a few days ago."

"The next one is Swoosh, a tengu of a brutish nature," Ninja Star continued. "He can conjure shadow pegasi that can unleash devastating aerial attacks."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened upon hearing that. "Those were the creeps that created the tornado that nearly leveled Ponyville."

"And lastly, there is Slash, the praying mantis," Ninja Star said. "He and his band of shadow earth ponies are masters of swordplay and other weapons."

"They're the thieves who attacked us earlier," Fluttershy gasped.

"But I don't understand," Twilight said. "What do they want? Why did they come to Ponyville? And why did they come after us?"

Ninja Star closed his eyes and took a deep breath before reopening them. "I have been following them for some time, and even I do not know their true intentions. They may seem like a spontaneous band of ruffians who commit random acts of terror, but somehow, I feel there is a method behind their madness. All I know is that they are searching for something—what and why, I do not know. I have a feeling it may have something to do with you six."

"Us!" Twilight exclaimed. The other six appeared equally shocked.

"Slash did call you six the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, correct?" Ninja Star asked.

"We are," Twilight said. "We were the ones who used the Elements to restore Nightmare Moon to her former self and turn Discord back into stone."

Ninja Star then groaned as he closed his eyes for a thought. "Then I have a feeling the Shadow Clan is after you. Again, for what reason, I do not know. But I do know—nay, I swear—that I will remain in Ponyville and protect you all until their threat over you is no more."

"Well, that's mighty thoughtful of you partner," Apple Jack said, "But I best believe we six girls can handle ourselves from here."

"Are you kidding?" Rarity asked. "If it wasn't for Ninja Star here, heaven knows what would have happened to us. We'll need all the help from him we can get."

Just then, Nurse Redheart poked her head into the room. "Visiting hours are almost over."

"Again, we can't thank you enough for saving us," Twilight said. "We are grateful."

"No, it is I who am grateful for having the honor to defend you all, the Elements of Harmony." Ninja Star interjected.

"And you can continue doing so once you get better," Fluttershy said.

Ninja Star leant back into his bed and closed his eyes for a night's rest after the ponies had bid their good-byes and left the infirmary.

As the six walked down the hallway, Pinkie Pie glanced at Fluttershy. "Hey Fluttershy, how come your face is all red?"

Fluttershy gasped. "What?"

Dash glanced at her. "Yeah, your face is glowing brighter than a lighbulb."

Fluttershy's face was indeed red, and became redder once everyone started noticing, forcing her to shield her face with her wing. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

"You're thinking about Ninja Star, aren't you?" Pinkie Pie asked in a sing-song voice.

"I wouldn't blame you, darling," Rarity said. "He is quite the well-built stallion, and rather dashing to say the least."

"Shucks, I'm not surprised if you fell hoof over heels for him," Apple Jack added. "He is brave and strong, and you are—um—well—not."

That comment only made Fluttershy blush brighter and hide her face within her wing even more.

The other girls laughed as they left through the hospital doors.

* * *

Within the darkened throne room, illuminated by the moonlight shining through the stained glass windows, stood Squish and Swoosh before the Shadow Mare as she sat upon her throne. They were soon accompanied by Slash, who appeared in a puff of purple smoke. Both Squish and Slash glared at him as he approached the throne.

"What was youse thinking, you bug brain?" Swoosh yelled, pointing an accusing talon at Slash. "Youse and yours ninjas could've blown our cover."

Slash smirked at him. "And yet our cover remain unblown, and we've managed to draw out the Mane 6 and that pesky ninja who's been on our trail, all according to my plan."

Squish gave an indignant "humph" as he crossed his arms. "You two should leave the planning to me. I have far more intellect in the tip of my flipper than either of you have in your thick skulls."

Swoosh waved his fist at him. "Watch it, youse!"

"Enough!" barked the Shadow Mare, drawing the attention of all three to her. "The third and final pawn is in place, and soon, the final few moves of our chess game will be played that will guarantee our winning check mate. Soon, we will have what we have been searching for, and with it, we shall claim our rightful place as the rulers of Equestria."

* * *

_**Twilight Sparkle:** Hey, it's me, Twilight. Whoa! Who's that new stallion who came into town?_

_**Xander:** Him? Oh, he's just someone I know from Gringhorn's Academy._

_**Twilight:** You went to Grinhorns? No way! That's one of the most prestigious magical academies for colts in Equestria. No wonder you're magic is so impressive!_

_**Xander:** Yeah, this guy is a complete braggart who has the audacity to challenge me to a wizard's duel._

_**Twilight:** You should totally accept his challenge._

_**Xander:** What?_

_**Twilight:** I've never seen a wizard's duel before, especially between two Gringhorn's students._

_**Xander:** Forget it! I'm not dueling that stuck up loser!_

_**Twilight:** Next time on My Little Pony: An Old Rival Returns. Xander's Wizard Duel._

_**Xander:** I'm not doing this for you!_

* * *

**My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and characters © Hasbro and Lauren Faust**  
** Xander © Me**  
** Skywind © ex626AKAKeon**  
** Ninja Star © ninjaninjanoob23**

** Voice Credits**

** Twilight Sparkle ...Tara Strong**  
** Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy...Andrea Libman**  
** Applejack, Rainbow Dash...Ashleigh Ball**  
** Rarity, Princess Luna...Tabitha St. Germain**  
** Princess Celestia...Nicole Oliver**  
** Spike...Cathy Weseluck**  
** Xander...Vic Mignogna**  
** Sky Wind...Antony Del Rio**  
** Ninja Star...Dave Wittenberg**  
** Squish...Samuel Vincent**  
** Swoosh...Derek Stephen Prince**  
** Slash...Roger Labon Jackson**  
** Shadow Mare...Susanne Blakeslee**  
** Black Stallion...Ron Perlman**


	4. Episode 04

**_My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_**** presents**

_**The Dark Stallion**_

**Episode 04: ****_An Old Rival Returns. Xander's Wizard Duel._**

* * *

_Last time on My Little Pony:_

_Following a string of robberies in Ponyville, Twilight and her friends planned to capture the culprits responsible. Little did they know that they were going up against ninjas. The six would have met their end were it not for the intervention of a lone ninja sword pony. Introducing himself as Ninja Star, he explained that the ninjas were of the Shadow Clan. Though he himself knew little of their intentions, he suspected that they were after the Elements of Harmony, and vowed to offer them his protection. Just who are the Shadow Clan, and what are their intentions with the Elements of Harmony?_

* * *

"Father! Father, what's going on?!" yelled a terrified young colt at the top of his shrill, young voice as he raced down a hallway engulfed in black smoke.

He ran towards the door from where the smoke emanated and kicked it open with a single leap. Inside was a study engulfed in flames, and in its center stood a light brown stallion with a wild, dark red mane and a deep scar across his right eye. The stallion grimaced, cackling as he stood over another stallion, dark blue with a silver-blue mane, who lay in a pool of blood before him.

The colt gasped as he recognized the fallen stallion. "Father! No!"

* * *

Xander jolted upright in his bed. A cold sweat rolled down his forehead and back. Panting heavily, he surveyed his room, noticing that it was still night.

It was only a nightmare—the same one that had been haunting him ever since that fateful night ten years ago, and it felt just as real as when it first occurred.

With a light sigh, he reclined back into bed with his head resting upon his sweat-soaked pillow. He closed his eyes and returned to sleep. Hopefully, that nightmare would not repeat itself in the same night.

* * *

It was around early morning, shortly after breakfast, when Twilight and Spike visited the downtown market, which was fairly busy for a morning such as this. While perusing the many stalls, Twilight happened across Applejack and her cart, its baskets overflowing with freshly-picked green and red apples.

"Morning, Applejack," Twilight greeted the cowpony.

"Well, howdy there, Twilight! Spike!" Applejack stood behind her cart after having finished setting up. "Grocery shopping, I assume?"

Twilight nodded. "Just some errands before I open up the library for the day."

"Well, speaking of which, one of yer regular patrons is coming this way." Applejack pointed across the marketplace.

Twilight turned to see Xander approaching. She smiled and waved at him. "Hello, Xander!"

Xander passed by without saying a word. His somber expression revealed that he did not notice them.

Twilight appeared perplexed. "Xander?"

Again, Xander did not notice or acknowledge her.

Twilight grimaced. Her horn glowed light purple as she winked away, leaving poor Spike to fall onto the ground upon her disappearance. She reappeared before Xander, who gave a slight yelp as he jolted back in shock upon his flank. As he fell backwards, his satchel flew open, and from it flew a handful of old pages.

"You know, it's common courtesy to return somepony's greeting." Twilight said, slightly frustrated.

Xander picked himself up and dusted himself off. He chuckled slightly. "Sorry. I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice you."

As he started gathering the fallen pages and returning them to his satchel, Twilight joined in and helped him, picking up two pages. Curiosity soon got the best of her as she studied them closely. Before she could fully read them, she felt the pages being snatched out of her hooves by Xander.

"Those are private!" He barked at her before realizing what he had done. "Sorry! It's just that these pages are very personal for me, and I don't appreciate them being seen by other ponies."

His half-hearted apology hardly fazed Twilight, who closed her eyes and turned her nose up as she returned to Applejack's cart. "If you're heading to the library," she turned to face him, "it's closed until I'm finished with my errands. You might as well stick around with me and socialize while I finish."

Xander rolled his hazel eyes as he stepped in front of the cart and next to Twilight. "If you insist. Might as well get something to eat."

"You're in luck, then," Applejack grabbed the brightest red apple she could find in the basket next to her and offered it to Xander. "No better way to start yer morning than with a fresh red apple."

Xander accepted the fruit as he reached into his pocket to pull out a coin. "Well, thank you, um, Applejack, is it?"

"That it is," Applejack replied, accepting the coin.

Just then, from out of the bushel of apples popped the head of Pinkie Pie, starling all three ponies and Spike.

"And I'm Pinkie Pie!" she chirped, oblivious to the startled expressions of the others.

Xander was especially shocked, clenching his chest as if he had nearly suffered a heart attack. He was not accustomed to the pink pony's antics as the others were.

He relaxed, and gave a nervous chuckle. "Well, nice to meet you too, Pinkie." He leant next to Twilight, covering the front of his mouth, whispering, "Does she normally do that?"

"Normal doesn't accurately describe her," Twilight whispered back.

Pinkie giggled, grabbing an apple from the very bushel she was sitting in. "Looks like you and your new coltfriend are getting along quite nicely, Twilight."

Twilight and Xander both gasped in embarrassment.

"He's not my coltfriend, Pinkie." Twilight mumbled.

"Weeeellllll—" Pinkie gazed diagonally to her left as she twirled the apple in her hoof, "He is a colt, and he is your friend, so—"

Before she could finish, she began shaking up and down as her tail quickly twitched.

Applejack gasped. "Pinkie, is your Pinkie Sense tingling again?"

Pinkie Pie looked at her tail. "Seems like it. Could be a ditzy." She gazed upward while resting her chin on her other hoof. "Or perhaps it's a doozy."

"Twilight!" Spike exclaimed, pointing to the sky.

Everyone turned to see a purple fireball barreling towards them. Twilight gasped.

Without second thought, Xander tossed his apple towards the fireball. The apple exploded upon impact, dissipating the fireball, and spluttering apple juice and sauce upon the four ponies and dragon. Everypony but Pinkie and Xander had their mouths wide open in disbelief.

Pinkie nonchalantly took a bite of her apple. "Yup. Definitely a doozy," she said with her mouth full.

"Great galloping hornytoads!" Applejack wiped the apple mess off her face. "What the tarnation was that?"

"Nice counter, Xander!" A voice exclaimed.

Standing on a far-off rooftop was a male unicorn. He leapt off the roof, onto the canvas of a nearby stall, and somersaulted in the air twice before landing on the ground with a bow.

Now that he was closer to them, everyone could take notice of him more easily. He was a young male unicorn, around the same age as the others, with a beige coat and dirty blond mane with red highlights. He wore a jacket similar to what Xander wore, only blue instead of grey, and he also wore a golden pocket watch around his neck with matching ensignia.

His green eyes stared intently at Xander. "Using an apple to counter a purple zigbang? Very resourceful. But then again, what else can I expect from a prodigy such as yourself?"

Xander scoffed and rolled his eyes. "LaRousse!"

"You know him?" Twilight asked.

"We attended the same school," Xander replied.

"Gringhorn's, to be exact," LaRousse added.

"Gringhorn's?!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Did you hear that girls? Xander graduated from Gringhorn's!" She then blinked twice before asking Twilight, "What's Gringhorn's?"

"Gringhorn's Academy for Gifted Colts," Twilight answered. "It's only one of the most prestigious magical academies in Equestria—aside from Princess Celestia's School, of course."

"What's the difference?" Spike asked.

"Celestia's is a magical academy for all gifted unicorns, whereas Gringhorn's is more of a military academy for colts," Twilight replied. "My brother, Shining Armor, graduated from there."

"Not just any colt attends that academy," LaRousse bragged. "Only the most disciplined and learned can graduate, and Xander here graduated with highest honors, top in his class even."

Applejack whistled, clearly impressed.

Twilight nodded. "My brother struggled just to graduate from there with a normal grade point average. I'd imagine what rigor a colt like Xander would need to graduate top of his class."

Xander pointed to LaRousse. "Enough of the phony flank kissing," he exclaimed, his voice revealing that he was starting to get annoyed. "Just how did you manage to find me?"

"Oh, I just happened to stroll into town when I overheard gossip going around of a young stallion who single-handedly saved the dam with his magic." LaRousse replied. "It didn't take me long to figure out it was you. I assume it was you."

Xander gazed away, unenthused. "Yes."

"Well, of course it was," LaRousse replied. "Who else but you could—"

"Look," Xander interrupted, clearly annoyed, "Do you mind telling me what it is you want from me?"

"Why Xander!" LaRousse said, feigning shock. "Can't an old friend catch up on old times?"

"We're not friends, LaRousse," Xander replied.

"No, but you could say that we're rivals of a sort," LaRousse continued. "And as rivals, we're involved in, well, rivalry." He rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'll just cut to the chase: I wish to challenge you to a wizard's duel."

Twilight perked her ears and gasped when she heard that.

"Not interested," Xander replied.

"Oh come now!" LaRousse said, feigning a pouty disposition. "Don't tell me I came all this way for nothing. I was so looking forward to challenging you."

"I have to say, Xander," Twilight interjected, "it would be interesting to see you in a wizard's duel."

Xander threw a dirty glance at Twilight. "I said I'm not interested."

"But I've never seen a wizard's duel before," Twilight replied, "especially between two Gringhorn's graduates."

"You're marefriend has a point," LaRousse said.

Both Twilight and Xander scowled at this.

"He's not my coltfriend," Twilight protested.

"She's not my marefriend," Xander said at the exact same time.

Both realized that they spoke the same thing simultaneously, and blushed.

"Well, if you decide to accept my challenge," LaRousse said, "I'll see you in the fields on the outskirts of town around noon. I just hope you haven't lost your edge."

With that, LaRousse leapt onto another rooftop and disappeared out of sight.

* * *

When the sun shone high at noon that day, Xander waited patiently on the east outskirts of Ponyville along the road that lead from town to Canterlot. He leant against the post of a wooden fence that segregated the dirt road from a grassy field that stretched as far as the eye could see, bordered by the Everfree Forest to the south and the river to the west. Save for a lone tree in the far distance, the entire field lay barren. A gentle wind blew, wiping the dew of sweat from Xander's forehead, and ruffling the hairs in his mane.

Xander kept his gaze to the ground as he spoke to Twilight standing to his left, leaning over the railing. "Remind me again why you're here again?"

Twilight beamed as the wind wafted through her flowing hair. "Like I said: I've never seen a wizard's duel before, and I think seeing one would be a good learning experience for me."

Xander then glared at Twilight's friends, who all stood along the fence to her left. "And what about them?"

"We're here for the entertainment," Applejack replied. "This here wizard's duel sounds a whole lot like wrestling, only with them unicorn magic-y powers."

"That just makes it sound 20 percent cooler," Rainbow Dash added. "And it's not like we get to see unicorn magic in action around these parts, save for Twilight and perhaps the occasional huckster like Trixie."

"And it's not just any unicorn magic, darling," Rarity continued. "This is magic by graduates from Gringhorn's Academy. The colts there undergo the strictest, most rigorous of training—making them ample in both magic and physique—but more importantly, physique."

Rarity gave a gentle sigh as she rested her cheek against her hoof.

"I'm here to cheer everyone on," Fluttershy said. "Oh, I'm so excited, I feel like giving a big one right now."

Fluttershy took a deep breath and gave a gentle, "yay!"

Pinkie Pie popped up behind them holding an assortment of snacks in her arms. "And I brought the refreshments: candy, popcorn, candy corn, chocolate, chips, cheesy puffs—of course, most of it's for me."

In a single gulp she swallowed an entire bag of popcorn and let off a gentle hiccup and giggle.

"And I'm here because Rainbow Dash is here," Sky Wind explained. "It's not like I have anything else to do, considering my memory is lost and all."

Xander scoffed. "Well, just stay out of the way, all of you. These duels can get out of hand, and I don't want any pony getting hurt."

He looked to the ground. "Of course, I don't even know why I'm even here to begin with."

"Because you didn't feel like chickening out to me?" LaRousse asked, appearing in the field before them in a burst of light with silver sparkles cascading around him.

Xander gave a rough chuckle. "I see you've made another dramatic entry as usual."

LaRousse crossed his forelegs and gazed upon Xander smugly. "And I see you brought along your fangirls."

Xander jolted in place as embarrassment shot across his face. "They're not my fangirls."

LaRousse chuckled. "So I'm assuming they're mine, then?"

Xander only grit his teeth in frustration.

LaRousse casually strutted past Xander and towards the six fillies, giving a gentle bow. "Why hello there, ladies. The name's LaRousse, proud graduate of Gringhorn's Academy."

He took Rarity by the hoof, and gestured toward her with a bow. "I'm sure you've all heard of it. It's only the finest magical academies in Equestria, and it produces only the finest of gentlecolts like myself."

He gently kissed her hoof, forcing her to blush, giggle, and hide her face with her other hoof.

LaRousse took one step back. "I assure you are all in for the most exquisite of presentations, a demonstration of what our fine academy can offer. And to make matters more interesting, I offer one of you ladies the chance to date whoever wins this duel. Sounds like a fair prize?"

Xander rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Oh, come off it, Casanova. Let's get on with the duel already. I don't have all day."

LaRousse chuckled. "So be it. We'll make our way to our chosen playing field now."

Both colts took forty paces from the fence into the field.

"I just remembered why I decided to accept your challenge," Xander said as the two walked alongside each other.

"Is it because I'm such a formidable opponent?" LaRousse asked.

Xander scoffed. "Hardly. If anything, you're simply not worth my time. I wasn't even going to come to this stupid duel. But then I remembered that you've always been full of yourself, being the unbearable braggart that you are. So I figured this would be the opportune moment to knock you down a notch."

The two reached forty paces and turned to face one another.

LaRousse smirked confidently. "Such bold words. And this is why I so desired to challenge you."

Both took one step back from one another.

"Standard regulations?" Xander asked.

"What else?" LaRousse asked in a shrug. "The duel ends when one combatant surrenders, loses all his magical energy, or falls unconscious. Other than that, no holds bar."

The two turned to each other's back.

"Ten paces until your first attack." LaRousse announced. "Ready?"

"Ready." Xander replied.

The two started pacing away from one another with LaRousse counting out loud in French (or rather, Fancy). When they had reached "Ten," Xander turned and unleashed a fireball attack, only to notice that LaRousse was nowhere to be found. He felt a cold wind as LaRousse teleported ten paces behind him and unleashed his own fireball attack. Before it could strike, Xander stomped his hind hooves on the ground, bringing up a square wall of dirt behind him to shield him from the attack.

LaRousse gazed up and saw as a fireball fell towards him from above. It was the same fireball that Xander unleashed previously, and had manipulated with his magic to loop over him and towards LaRousse, who quickly back flipped out of the way as it bombarded the ground, leaving a charred impact as a meteor would.

Twilight and the others could only stare in awe at the duel. None of them had seen anything such as this before. They watched in silence, with Rainbow Dash mouthing "Whoa!"

LaRousse laughed as if the situation was anything but serious, as if Xander had merely missed him with a snowball rather than a fireball. "I see you're still quick on your feet as ever."

He back flipped once, twice, then leapt into the air—but before he could return to the ground, his horn and entire body glowed bright orange as he began rising into the air a good fifteen feet.

Sky Wind gasped. "He's flying!"

"The proper term is 'levitating,' actually," Twilight replied. "It's just like levitating anything else with magic, only it's yourself. A spell for very advanced unicorns."

"Wonder if Xander can levitate, too?" Rainbow Dash asked.

From where he now stood in the air, LaRousse glared down upon Xander. "Let's see how quick you can dodge this."

As he spoke, electric sparks flew from his horn. In a blink of an eye, he sent a lightning bolt crashing down upon Xander, who leapt straight in the air, dodging the bolt as it crashed into the ground below him.

Aglow within a blue aura, Xander now stood face-to-face with LaRousse, who sent yet another lightning bolt at him. Xander flew several feet back as the lighting struck him—or rather, as the electricity gathered into a ball before him. When the ball became the size of a basketball, Xander spun around once and launched it at LaRousse, who countered it with an orange force field, sending it back at Xander who countered likewise. The two continued bouncing the lightning ball back and forth as though it was a mere tennis ball before it hit Xander off guard and sent him careening into the river below, creating a huge splash.

"Xander!" Twilight exclaimed.

When the water from the splash subsided, it revealed Xander kneeling upon the river's surface as though it were solid ground. He stood and began walking toward the riverbank.

"Sweet apple dumplings!" Apple Jack exclaimed, "He's walking on water!"

"Like Pony Jesus!" Pinkie Pie added.

Apple Jack raised her eyebrow. "What?"

"What?" Pinkie Pie replied, appearing equally confused.

Xander reached the riverbank as LaRousse lowered himself back onto the ground.

"It's going to take more than that to catch me off guard," Xander replied, standing on the bank.

LaRousse smirked as he tilted his head with his horn glowing orange. "Will it now?"

Xander felt a presence behind him. Before he could turn, he was swept up into a tidal wave.

LaRousse's horn shone brighter, and the water from the wave began levitating in the air as a water bubble with Xander immersed within it, flailing and struggling for breath.

"Had I malicious intent, I'd simply let you drown," LaRousse boasted before his horn gave a burst of orange light.

The water surrounding Xander instantaneously froze into an ice ball that crashed into the ground below. Xander remained frozen within, his expression like that of a statue.

"But I think this is the more humane way to defeat you," LaRousse chuckled as he turned to walk away. "Don't worry, it's a hot day today. The ice should melt within the next hour or so. Then you'll be able to let go."

A blue aura surrounded Xander as his horn began to glow blue. The ice he was encased in began letting off steam at a swift rate, and soon enough, it had all melted back into its liquid state. As Xander landed on the ground, the water rose above him into individual droplets that quickly froze into icicles.

As LaRousse turned, he saw the icicles fly toward him. He back flipped several times, each time narrowly-missing an icicle. With the last icicle, LaRousse landed upon his feet and saw as Xander came rushing at him.

Xander leapt into the air, his horn glowing blue, and landed upon the ground. The ground beneath his fore hooves glowed with a circle of blue light, its shape that of a square within a triangle within a circle—the same shape as his cutie mark. From its center emerged an iron pole with a saber on one end and a flowing ribbon on the other—a pole staff. The new weapon floated before Xander in an aura of blue light that resonated with that of his horn. Xander rushed forward and swung at Larousse, who back flipped and landed upon his fore hooves, creating a similar circle from which arose an iron sword.

LaRousse landed on all fours and brandished his sword before him with his magic. "So it's a normal duel you want? So be it!"

He rushed forward and swung his sword, clashing with Xander's pole staff.

"That staff came out of nowhere," Fluttershy exclaimed.

"Actually, it was created with the art of transmutation," Ninja Star said, standing right next to her.

Everyone gave a startled gasp as they realized the ninja pony, who had come out of nowhere, was standing in their midst.

"You came out of nowhere!" Fluttershy gasped.

"How did you do that?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Better question," Twilight interjected, "How do you know about transmutation?"

Ninja Star leant against the fence as he watched the duel between Xander and LaRousse, both clashing weapons with one another's. "I've traveled far and wide across Equestria and have seen the combat and techniques of different ponies. The technique we have just witnessed is the art of transmutation—the process of converting one form of matter into another through alchemy."

From the looks of the duel, it would have seemed that LaRousse had the upper hand, but Xander quickly gained footing and began fighting back harder and harsher.

"The weapons those two now wield were created from the minerals in the earth below, their molecules rearranged into the form of staff and sword respectively," Ninja Star continued. "I have met many unicorns of varying magical capabilities, many from Gringhorn's Academy, but very few have been capable of conjuring such magic."

Twilight gave a short hum. "No wonder Xander graduated with highest honors, then."

The duel made its way down to the river as Xander forced his way with every blow at LaRousse. The two now stood upon the bank, with LaRousse's back upon the river.

LaRousse made a wide swing at Xander, who ducked the attack and elbowed LaRousse in the stomach, sending him falling upon him rump into the river. Xander leapt in the air and was about to strike when LaRousse threw his one hoof forward, unleashing a gust of wind that knocked Xander back a few feet upon his back.

LaRousse got back upon his hooves as he stood in the shallow water. "Not so quick, are you, Xander?"

He then felt the water recede, and upon seeing Xander's horn glow, looked back to see a tidal wave approach him. Before it could crash upon him, LaRousse leapt forward and out of the way.

"Ha! You think you can use my own attack against me?" LaRousse asked.

As LaRousse landed upon the ground, he noticed it felt softer than usual, and before he could realize what was happening, he found himself buried up to his chin in the earth which had swallowed him whole.

Xander chuckled. "No, just drawing you to my own."

Xander leapt to his feet, raised his pole staff, and was about to strike LaRousse (forcing him to close his eyes and the other ponies to gasp in horror) when he stopped his saber only a mere centimeter from LaRousse's throat. A few more centimeters, and his throat would have been slashed.

Xander dropped his staff and turned. "If I had malicious intent, I would have killed you right there—but considering as how I already won the duel by default, I'm not going to bother."

LaRousse laughed in good spirit. "Good show, Xander. You're feats truly have surpassed my own."

He then realized as Xander was pacing away from him farther and farther. He quickly panicked. "Hey! You are going to get me out of here right? Right, good chum?"

Xander stopped where he was and sighed. "Might as well."

His horn lit up, and LaRousse pop out of the ground like a cork from a bottle, flying several feet in the air before landing back onto the ground.

At that point, the other ponies had leapt over the fence and were racing towards Xander.

"Boy howdy," Applejack exclaimed. "That was some mighty fine show you put on out there."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash pumped her fist in the air as she flapped in place. "Those moves were just so full of awesome."

"We haven't seen such dazzling magical feats performed before," Rarity bragged, "not even from our very own Twilight—no offense, dear."

Twilight shook her head. "None taken." She glanced at Xander. "That was really impressive magic you performed out there, Xander."

Xander gazed at the ground, closed his eyes, and scoffed. "It was nothing. Now can we get back to the library? I've wasted enough time out here as it is."

"Certainly," Twilight nodded. "But first, we should thank LaRou—"

Twilight looked behind Xander, only to discover that LaRousse was nowhere to be found. "Where did he go?"

Xander casually looked back, not even phased by LaRousse's sudden disappearance.

"Meh, his exits are just as dramatic as his entrances."

* * *

The rest of the day Xander spent at the library until it closed at 5 o'clock per usual. As he was leaving, Twilight followed behind him as he closed the door behind them.

As she followed him down the steps and along the street, Xander gazed back at Twilight with suspicion. "Any reason why you're following me?"

Twilight was soon walking alongside him. "Well, LaRousse did say that we ladies could have a date with the winner, but I thought a simple walk back home would suffice."

Xander turned his gaze forward. "So be it. But don't expect a kiss good night."

Twilight giggled. "That magic you used back there was quite intriguing. I had never seen anything like it before, not even from my own mentor. They must have really taught you well at the academy."

Xander closed his eyes. "Meh, none of that stuff was taught to me at the Academy. I had learned it all on my own."

Twilight stopped in her place for a second and gasped before continuing. "Really?!"

"When you grow up alone like I did, you tend to rely on yourself for most things, including your own education. It was because I had learned most of what I did on my own when I was in the orphanage that caught the attention of headmaster Gringhorn, who in turn gave me an all-expense paid scholarship to his academy. The graduation requirements are the strictest in all of Equestria, yet passing all my classes and graduating were hardly a challenge for me."

"Twilight! Xander!"

The two turned and saw Spike rushing up behind them with a book in hand.

"Xander, you forgot your book back at the library," Spike said handing it over to Xander, who opened it, scanned the pages, and placed it into his satchel.

"Thanks," was Xander's only response as he continued along the street.

"That book," Twilight said. "The pages of it were the same ones that I had picked up earlier, correct? Back when we bumped into each other."

"Correct," Xander replied.

Twilight gazed into the corner of her eyes. "I know it's personal to you, but if you don't mind me asking, what were those two pages exactly?"

Xander sighed. His horn lit up, and the book levitated from his satchel and before him and Twilight (and Spike, who now sat upon her shoulders). He turned to the two pages that they had seen before.

The left page was a police report concerning a stallion by the name of "Flame Burst" and detailed how he had been arrested and charged with several accounts of arson. The photo was his mug shot: a light brown stallion with a dark red mane and a deep scar across his right eye.

The right page featured the front page article of a newspaper with the photo of the charred remains of a burned house. The headline read: "House destroyed by arson, leaves 8-year-old orphaned."

"It's the newspaper article of when my house burned down and I lost my father," Xander replied. "The police report is of the suspected arsonist. He was a serial arsonist and vandal, and even to this day, the police have yet to capture him. I plan on tracking him down, along with the Amulet, so that my father can rest in peace."

With that, he slipped the book back into his satchel.

"I can understand you wanting to find the amulet," Twilight said. "But wanting to get revenge on some lone criminal? Nothing good ever came from revenge."

Xander glared at Twilight, who recoiled slightly. "It wouldn't be revenge, it would be justice. And if you know what's good for you, you'll keep out of it."

Twilight bit her lip as she sensed the tension between her and Xander. She didn't say a word, though she desperately wanted to chew him out for that outburst.

They finally stopped in front of a shabby boarding house.

"This is where I'm staying," Xander said as he stopped in front of it. He walked up the three steps, opened the battered screen door, and turned to Twilight. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night," Twilight replied.

Xander closed the door and Twilight and Spike made their way back to the library.

"Spike, did you notice anything suspicious about those two articles Xander showed us?" Twilight asked.

Spike scratched his chin, thinking for a second. "Well to be honest, I didn't even take a good look at them."

"Did you at least notice the dates?" She asked.

"What about them?" Spike replied.

"That police record of the arsonist who killed Xander's father—" Twilight replied. "It said that he had died—two days before the newspaper article was printed!"

"Are you sure you didn't get the dates mixed up?"

"Not with my photographic memory."

"Maybe the newspaper or police record got the dates wrong."

"Perhaps," Twilight said, her faced tweaked as she was in deep thought. "But if the dates are correct, then that means the arsonist was killed—"

"Two days before he had killed Xander's father!" Spike exclaimed. "But how—?"

"Don't ask me!" Twilight interrupted, shaking her head. "I have no idea myself."

"You think Xander knows about that?" Spike asked.

"Considering his intellect," Twilight replied. "He probably does, and it probably makes just as much sense to him as it does to me."

* * *

Along a darkened corridor lit only by torchlights walked LaRousse. He came across two figures near the end—Slash and Swoosh. He looked at them as though their presence did not phase them.

"So where was youse?" Swoosh asked in his heavy Brooklyn accent, addressing LaRousse as he would a close companion.

"What business did you have with those ponies in Ponyville today?" Slash added.

LaRousse smirked. An orange light ran up along him from toe to head. When it dissipated, it revealed the kappa wizard Squish in his place.

"Just analyzing the tactics of one of our more formidable foes," he replied in a grimace.

* * *

_**Fluttershy:**__ Oh, hello, it's me Fluttershy. Oh dear, with everything scary going on, why do I have to be so small and weak?_

_**Ninja Star:**__ I do not think you are weak, Fluttershy-san. From what I have heard, you can be quite brave and strong._

_**Fluttershy:**__ You really think so?_

_**Ninja Star:**__ Indeed, and if you allow me, I can train you to reach your full potential._

_**Fluttershy:**__ Next time on My Little Pony, "I Can Be Strong. Train Me, Ninja Star." Oh my, this will be new._


	5. Episode 05

**_My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_**** presents**

_**The Dark Stallion**_

**Episode 05: ****_I Can Be Strong. Train Me, Ninja Star._**

* * *

_Last time on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:_

_An old schoolmate of Xander's, LaRouse, came to town and challenged him to a wizard's duel. Xander reluctantly accepted, and the two fought on the outskirts of town. Though it seemed that LaRouse had the upper hand, it was Xander who became victorious. Later that day, Xander revealed that his search is not only for the amulet, but also for the stallion who killed his father. Will Xander's visit to Ponyville result in him finding either?_

* * *

"The Maikeru Blade: For centuries, this sword has served as the bane of evil and the tool in the endless struggle between good and evil, and it has been our family who has been tasked with wielding this blade as to better reign with justice over our kingdom."

These words were spoken by a stallion as he sat behind a paper screen, upon which was cast his silhouette, revealing him to be dressed in oriental regalia.

In front of the screen, kneeling upon one knee with his head bowed in reverence, was Ninja Star, dressed in a black kimono and white sash.

Next to him stood an altar upon which the very sword being spoken of rested. There the sword lay sheathed within its black scabbard inscribed with ivory oriental characters.

Both the altar and Ninja Star bathed within the light of the morning sun as it poured through the door behind them.

"This sword," the stallion behind the screen continued, "has been passed down through our family from generation to generation. As I now wield it, so too did my father before me wield it, and his father before him, and every other male within our family before them one hundred fold—and soon, it will be you who will wield this sword."

Ninja Star kept his head bowed. "And when shall I wield it, father?"

The stallion behind the screen nodded. "When you are strong enough, my son."

Ninja Star gave a small grin before returning to a more reverent expression. "Forgive me, father, but ever since I could walk, you have appointed the monks to train me in the art of the ninja. During those past 17 years of my life, I have received only the most rigorous physical, spiritual, and mental training. I dare say I even rival the captain of the guard in physical prowess. How much stronger must I become?"

From behind the screen, the stallion likewise grinned. "My son, in all forgiveness, I am sure that within those years of training, you would have learned by now that there is more to strength than just physical, and I dare say, even more so than spiritual and mental. To truly wield this sword, you must not only be strong in body and mind and spirit, but also in heart. When your heart cries out for all that is righteous and just, then will this sword be bestowed upon you."

* * *

**Two Years Later**

Ninja Star sat cross-legged on a patch of grass, his head bowed, his eyes shut, his one hoof positioned in front of his face in a praying gesture. Quietly he sat, unmoving, within the deepest of mediations. Only the wind could be heard around him.

Suddenly, a cluster of logs came flying towards him from either direction. He leapt in the air, drew his blade, and slashed through each log as it flew past him. As he landed upon his knees, the cut wood landed next to him into two neat piles.

Applause broke the silence as Fluttershy and the Apple Family cheered Ninja Star.

Apple Jack and Big Macintosh had each launched a pile of logs at him from their carts, while Apple Bloom, Granny Smith, and Fluttershy watched in the distance.

"I tells yah, Fluttershy," Apple Jack said, "Ninja Star here is mighty handy when it comes to doing chores."

"Eeyup!" Big Mac added.

"We should have enough firewood to last us all winter," Apple Bloom said, having finished bouncing in excitement.

"More like several winters," Granny Smith commented as she surveyed the log pile, which dwarfed the barn next to it.

Ninja Star sheathed his sword and stood. "It is an honor to be of service to the Apple family."

"That's good." Apple Jack said, approaching him. "Now if you can only be a service and—"

Apple Jack stopped as she felt the ground tremble beneath her. Looking below her feet, she noticed several pebbles bouncing on the ground, bouncing faster as the trembling became more intense.

Everyone began to look around, confused and startled. Granny Smith squinted as she gazed towards the horizon. Her elderly eyes shot wide open as she saw dust clouds rising.

"Stampede!" she screamed.

From over the horizon stormed a herd of frantically lowing cattle that was quickly approaching the Apple Family farm.

"Granny Smith!" Apple Jack yelled. "You and Apple Bloom git in the barn, now! The rest of us will handle this."

Granny Smith and Apple Bloom did as they were told and hurried into the barn, shutting the door behind them.

Apple Jack whistled for Winona, who came racing out of her doghouse and next to her master as she, Big Mac, Fluttershy, and Ninja Star began racing towards the oncoming stampede.

"What is it this time?" Apple Jack asked. "Another snake? Cattle rustlers?"

They stopped dead in their tracks as ten purple clouds exploded around them in a circle, preventing them from moving any farther.

"More like Shadow Clan," Ninja Star said, drawing his sword.

From each of the clouds appeared a shadow ninja pony.

"Ah, dagnabbit!" Apple Jack exclaimed. "Ain't no pony got time for this. You all handle them while Winona and I round up them cattle."

Apple Jack rushed forward. Three ninjas charged toward her, only for two to be knocked away by her hind hooves while one was mauled in the neck by Winona. All three disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. Apple Jack and Winona continued toward the encroaching stampede.

The rest of the ninjas charged at the remaining three. Ninja Star, with every slash of his sword, did not neglect to strike down a ninja as it approached him.

Four ninja surrounded Big Mac: two with swords, one with nunchucks, and one swinging a chain with a mace. Nevertheless, Big Mac stood his ground, unfazed. The four charged at him and leapt into the air. Big Mac ducked, forcing all four to crash into each other and disappear into purple puffs.  
"Nope!" was Big Mac's only response.

While everyone else was preoccupied, Fluttershy had quietly slipped away and began rushing toward the barn. She nearly reached its doors when two ninja appeared in front of her. She shrieked, reeling back.

From atop the barn roof exploded a larger smoke cloud, and from it appeared Slash. He leapt down towards Fluttershy with a war cry, landing behind her, with the other two ninja standing before her, blocking her way to the barn door.

Fluttershy was surrounded with no way to escape. The ninjas brandished their swords menacingly at her.

"I'm afraid there is nowhere for you to run to, my pretty," Slash spoke, raising his two pincer claws.  
The yellow pegasus's heart sank into her chest. She dropped to the ground, covered her head, and whimpered in distress.

Just as Slash was about to strike, he heard footsteps racing from behind him. He turned to see Ninja Star dashing toward him with sword drawn.

Slash leapt into the air, evading the attack, and forcing Ninja Star to strike the two ninja instead. Both disappeared in puffs of purple plumes. Ninja Star landed next to Fluttershy, who gazed at her savior with woeful eyes. He faced Slash opposite him, raced forward, and slashed several times, only to be blocked each time by Slash's claws.

Slash made one last swipe at Ninja Star before somersaulting over him and Fluttershy and back onto the barn roof.

"Not this time, sword pony!" Slash grunted before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The surrounding environment reverted back to silence as the threat was removed. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom peered from inside the barn and rushed outside when they saw it was safe.

"Whoo-hoo!" Apple Bloom cheered in a single jump. "You sure showed those bad guys, Ninja Star!"

Ninja Star sheathed his sword. "It is what I do best."

From behind him approached Apple Jack, Big Mac, and Winona.

"Well that's taken care of," Apple Jack said. "Winona and I managed to calm the herd down."

She surveyed her surroundings. "And I see that those shadow ninja thugs are long gone."

She frowned upon noticing a certain young pegasus missing. "Where's Fluttershy?"

Apple Bloom perked her ears as she heard soft whimpers from inside the barn. She peered inside to see Fluttershy huddled sobbing in the farthest corner.

The rest of the Apple Family and Ninja Star peered inside at Fluttershy.

"Poor thing is shook up with fright," Granny Smith commented.

"Sugarcube?" Apple Jack asked.

Ninja Star raised his hoof to her. "Apple Jack-san, if you may permit me, I would like to talk with her."

Apple Jack motioned for him to enter. "Be my guest."

Ninja Star stepped inside and paced towards Fluttershy, her sobs echoing throughout the barn, her tears rushing down her face and watering the ground.

He knelt down beside her. "Fluttershy-san, the ninjas are gone now."

Fluttershy gazed up at Ninja Star, her tear-stained face glistening. "Yes, but they'll be back again."

"I assure you, there is nothing to fear," Ninja Star said.

"Easy for you to say," Fluttershy gave a heavy sniffle, "You're so big and strong, and I'm small and weak."

"I do not believe you are weak, Fluttershy-san," Ninja Star replied. "Not from what I have heard of you. Your friends have spoken of your bravery, how you stood up to a dragon, how you stared down a cockatrice, how you stood firm before a minotaur, and how you even fought off a bear."

Fluttershy wiped the tears from her eyes. "Well, actually, I was giving him a massage."

"Fluttershy-san, If I may, I would like to teach you how to defend yourself," Ninja Star said.

"Defend?" she asked, shaking her head. "Oh, I don't know. I don't believe in violence."

Ninja Star placed his hoof upon her shoulder. "Neither do I. There is a difference between violence and defense, Fluttershy-san. What the Shadow Clan have been doing by attacking innocent ponies and endangering them is violence. Trying to stop them from doing that is defense."

He placed his hoof under her chin, directing her eyes into his. "I see great potential in your eyes, Fluttershy-san. You can be brave and strong, if you allow me to train you."

Fluttershy gasped, looked down, and blushed. "Well, if you insist. I would love to."

Ninja Star smiled at her, and she smiled back with a gentle giggle.

* * *

A cloaked figure, donning a brown shawl and a conical straw hat, leapt over the towering walls of the palace. Such suspicious individuals would normally try to scale the walls from the outside, and in doing so, would have been immediately apprehended by the palace guards. However, this cloaked individual jumped the wall from the inside, and with him being Ninja Star, he had the ninja stealth to sneak past his own family's guards without notice. Often he would sneak out of the palace after a long day of training to mingle with the commoners and relax.

His family's palace stood atop a hill overlooking a giant bay. Around this time of day, as the sun set within the horizon, the glowing orb appeared to melt within the orange waters until the two appeared as one. Upon these waters, bobbing with the gentle waves, floated dozens upon dozens of small boats with paper sails much larger than themselves. Being within a port town, the bay saw hundreds of ships sail in and out of its waters daily.

Between the bay and the palace stood a plethora of smaller buildings. Many were made of stone; others, out of paper. A few were pagodas that towered over the other buildings and bay, but failed to surpass the heights of the palace. Between these buildings were woven a network of cobblestone streets and alleys, through which Ninja Star found himself navigating.

These streets were normally packed during the day, to the point where it often became difficult to go from one end of the street to the other without squeezing past other people. But as the day drew to a close, the streets were far less congested, allowing Ninja Star to walk through with relative ease.

Most of the citizens of this kingdom were ponies like himself; however, many others were from different races. There was the occasional griffin, of course, but more commonly, there were those of races native to this land: kappa, tengu, and tanuki—humanoid raccoon dogs. Ninja Star passed by one such tanuki sitting behind a cardboard box with three bent cards set face down upon it.

The tankui peered at him with slit eyes as the pony passed. "Test your luck with Three Card Monty? Big fortune guaranteed!"

Ninja Star paid the tanuki no attention. Such creatures were normally shady hucksters.

He traversed through the streets and alley of the city, passing by the occasional pedestrian or by a merchant closing down shop. Cutting down an alleyway, he came upon a small shop, the light within glowing through the paper windows, and he entered through the doorway's flowery curtain.

Ninja Star entered a small shop, dimly lit by a few paper lanterns hanging from the rafters above. Three large wooden tables, each with a matching set of wooden benches on either side, stood between the door and the counter on the opposite side.

There a middle-aged mare dressed in a pink kimono stood behind the counter and hummed to herself while attending to something underneath. As Ninja Star approached her, she lifted her head, revealing a purple mane woven into a beehive and pinned together with a single red pin. She smiled as she saw him.

"Ninja Star," she rang out. "I was expecting our favorite royal customer, and I have exactly what you want."

She ducked behind the counter once more to pull out a small container filled with a dozen rice balls.  
"I'm still surprised to this day that a royal as yourself would have a taste for commoner food. I'd figure that you'd have an entire staff of the finest cooks willing to cater to your every craving."

Ninja Star removed his hat and pulled back his cloak as he approached the counter. "Trust me, Tsuri, when you lived within the palace for as long as I have, your palate becomes long accustomed to the royal staff's cooking, and your taste buds long for something—simple."

Tsuri blushed upon that compliment. "Still rather flattering to have a royal as a loyal customer."

Before Ninja Star could accept the platter, he sensed something behind him. He glanced into the corner of his eye, and quickly spun around, drawing his bamboo kendo stick to deflect the attack flying towards him.

* * *

"Are you serious?" Rarity asked Pinkie Pie as they walked along the path to Fluttershy's cottage.

"Apple Jack told me herself," Pinkie replied. She carried a platter of pink cupcakes on her back.

"Ninja Star's training Fluttershy in the ways of the ninja. She said it's to help her with self-defense and confidence. Lucky girl! I wish I could learn martial arts."

She leapt in the air and kicked her hind leg with a loud "Ki-yah!" before landing on the ground in a ninja pose. The tray of cupcakes, which had launched in the air with her, landed safely atop her head.

"Well it's nice to know that our little Fluttershy is learning how to defend herself," Rarity commented. "But let's hope that this training doesn't change her too much. Remember what happened with Iron Will?"

Having approached Fluttershy's house, Rarity reached for the door and knocked. Once it opened, Rarity and Pinkie Pie gasped at what they saw.

"Konichiwa, Rarity-chan, Pinkie-chan!" Fluttershy greeted, bowing before them. She wore a red kimono with a yellow sash. Her hair was tied in a bun with red twine and two pink chopsticks. She drew a fan from her pocket and opened it to reveal its yellow and pink color scheme with butterfly pattern, matching her cutie mark. "It is an honor for you two to join me and Ninja Star for tea. Please, come inside." She turned, but gave a soft "oh" before turning back, "I almost forgot: in oriental culture, it is customary to remove ones shoes before entering another's dwelling."

Pinkie Pie raised her hoof and inspected it. "But we don't even wear shoes."

The three entered the living room where Fluttershy had set up for their visit. Normally, whenever Fluttershy invited somepony over for tea, she usually had it outside with a table prepared with a pink and white ceramic teapot with matching teacups and doilies. For this afternoon's tea, she had set up a small wooden table that lay low to the floor with two green pillows set on each side. Upon the table was set an iron tea kettle and four wooden cups.

Rarity looked at the set up, then at Pinkie, then at Fluttershy. "So I presume we're sitting on the floor?"

Fluttershy took a seat upon one of the pillows with her legs crossed. "Oh yes Rarity-chan. It is how they eat and drink where Ninja Star-kun comes from."

With that, Pinkie Pie and Rarity followed suit and seated themselves. Pinkie placed her cupcakes upon the table.

"I see you brought over cupcakes as usual, Pinkie Pie-san." Fluttershy was filling each of the wooden cups with tea and handing them to each of her guests. "I'm sure they will go well with my green tea with jasmine, but I have made something that will probably go better with it."

When Fluttershy had finished pouring tea, she clapped her hooves twice.

From out of the kitchen hopped Angel Bunny, dressed in a blue kimono, carrying upon his head a tray with a dozen rice balls. He approached the table and laid the tray upon it.

"Arigato, Angel-chan." Fluttershy bowed as the bunny hopped away.

"Ooh, what are those?" Pinkie Pie asked, her eyes sparkling with interest. "They look tasty."

"Rice balls," Fluttershy replied, having taken a sip of her tea. "Sweetened rice packed into balls and stuffed with small treats like sour plums."

Pinkie Pie did not hesitate to sample one, swallowing it in a single gulp. "Mmm! Plummy!"

"Speaking of Ninja Star—" Rarity said.

"—you seek my presence?" Ninja Star replied. He had appeared seated upon the green pillow next to Fluttershy. His sudden appearance from nowhere startled both Pinkie Pie and Rarity, who spat out her tea.

Fluttershy giggled, and in Ninja Star's language, told him, "I told you that would give them quite the fright."

Ninja Star gave a small chuckle, nodded, and replied in the same language, "Yes. Perhaps it is best if I cease from appearing so suddenly."

Pinkie Pie and Rarity gazed at one another, and then back at the couple across the table.

"I see Ninja Star has had quite the influence on you," Rarity said, sipping her tea.

"Oh yes," Fluttershy said after sipping hers. "Ninja Star-kun has been training me in self-defense. I never thought I was capable of that, let alone martial arts, but with Ninja Star-kun as my sensei, why, it's much simpler than I thought."

"So you've been able to pull off any cool ninja moves?" Pinkie Pie asked, making a karate chop in the air.

"Mostly a few basic moves," Fluttershy continues, "but he says I do well for a beginner."

Ninja Star nodded and set down his tea. "Indeed she has. Most monks at their training level have not mastered new moves within their first year as well as Fluttershy-kun has within the past few weeks. For quite the little thing, she has the potential to be a kunoichi."

Pinkie Pie swallowed another rice ball. "Kuno-what-now?"

"Kunoichi," Fluttershy replied. "It's another word for a female ninja. But I have no intention of becoming one. I'm merely content learning the basics of self-defense."

Just then, from the ceiling snapped one of the birdhouses which came falling toward the table. Before it could crash into it, Fluttershy leapt in the air, and with a single roundhouse kick and "Ki-yah!," kicked the birdhouse straight through her door like a soccer ball into a goal.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie gazed in that direction with their mouths agape. They turned to each other, and then at Fluttershy, their mouths still wide open in disbelief.

Fluttershy giggled and blushed. "I was meaning to replace that old birdhouse anyway."

Rarity nervously chuckled. "Good thing we were planning on going shopping after this."

* * *

As Ninja Star spun around, he whipped out his kendo stick and used it to deflect the object flying right towards his head.

A rubber ball.

Like a bat striking against a baseball, so too did Ninja Star deflect the rubber ball. This attack sent the ball bouncing against the ceiling and onto the floor, where it bounced three times before landing into the hoof of a small filly. She looked like a younger counterpart to Tsuri, only with her hair twisted into two buns on either side of her head, with a cherry blossom sticking out of one.

The little filly giggled as she caught the ball. "Good one, Ninja Star!"

"Hana!" Tsuri chided her. "How many times do I have to tell you not to throw things at our customers?"

"Ah, but ma-ma, this is Ninja Star," Hana replied. "He has super ninja moves so he can fight against anything."

Tsuri sighed as she shrugged her shoulders. "I would expect nothing less from the prince who receives training from the monks."

Hana bounced in place like her own ball. "And one day, he can train me to have super ninja moves like him, right, Ninja Star?"

Ninja Star closed his eyes as he smiled. "Perhaps."

As he turned his attention back to Tsuri, he noticed something behind her. Sitting on a table was a glass case with a wooden frame and golden trimmings. Hanging inside it was a necklace, a sapphire jewel encased in a silver frame and hanging from a silver chain. Up until now, Ninja Star had never taken notice of this item.

"That necklace," he said, pointing to it. "I have seen it before several times, but I do not believe I ever inquired of it until now. What is the history behind it?"

Tsuri turned to face the necklace hanging within the case behind her, her reflection showing within the glass. "This heirloom has been passed down through my family for generations. Admittedly, not much is known about it, other than an ancestor of ours, through total happenstance, managed to come across it."

From behind the counter, Ninja Star glanced over the necklace. "I was about to say that it was peculiar for a lowly family as your own to have such a prized possession."

Tsuri grinned. "It just so happens that, many years ago, a silver-maned stallion from the West came into my shop with a vested interest in our medallion. He said he had been searching for something like it for a long time, and had learned that our family had owned it. He had offered big money to take it off our hands, but we humbly declined. Even then, upon closer inspection, he discovered that it wasn't the exact item he was looking for."

Ninja Star raised an eyebrow. "I am surprised that you willingly turned down such an offer. With enough money, you could have given your family a better life than you currently have."

Tsuri gazed back longingly at the medallion within its case. "Some things are more valuable than wealth, and when you manage to have things of such value in your life, you tend to hold onto it. This heirloom has been passed down from my mother, and her mother before her, and her mother before her—"

She then turned her gaze to Hana playing with her ball. "—and soon, it will be passed to my little Hana."

Ninja Star smiled as he too stared at the little filly. "I understand how you feel. Our family has a similar heirloom, and soon, it will be passed down to me—when I am strong enough to wield it."  
Hana stopped playing with her ball to look up at Ninja Star. "But you are super strong, Ninja Star. How much stronger do you need to get to get your own family heirloom?"

Ninja Star accepted his rice balls and turned to pace towards the door, but not without turning to face Hana and Tsuri. "Strong enough for my heart to cry out for justice."

With that, he left the shop with the two ponies waving him goodbye.

Ninja Star carried the small paper container of rice balls as he wound his way through the streets, meandering along until he reach the edge of the bay where the docks rest.

He stepped towards one wooden post and took a seat upon it. Taking a bite out of one rice ball, he gazed out over the bay and watched as the ships bobbed within the harbor and the sun melted into the orange waters.

He had finished his last rice ball when the sun completely melted into the water, making it impossible to distinguish it from the water. The sky above had slowly faded from orange to black with the stars faintly beginning to peer through from above.

As Ninja Star swallowed his last rice ball, he sensed a presence behind him, and turned to see another attack flying toward him.

* * *

Pinkie and Rarity followed Fluttershy, still dressed in her kimono, as she merrily pranced through the marketplace humming a song.

"Motto motto habataite tsuyoku, Motto motto hayaku, Hito wa hashiridashitara, Sora datte toberu n da," she sang to herself.

Walking behind Fluttershy, Rarity leant over to Pinkie Pie and whispered, "Do you think maybe Fluttershy has been taking her training with Ninja Star a bit far?"

Pinkie Pie shook her head. "Ah, I don't think it's that bad. She's just obsessed with him is all. I'm sure she'll tone down the weeaboo when she gets tired of it. Besides, it's much better than what happened with Ironwill."

The three came across a stall selling a variety of wooden items including birdhouses, which Fluttershy began inspecting.

Rarity started scratching her chin. "Speaking of Ninja Star, we still don't know that much about him, now do we? Wherever do you suppose he came from?"

Upon that note, Pinkie Pie reached behind her back and pulled out a stack of paper, which she showed to Rarity.

"My theory is that he's from a time long ago in a distant land, where an evil shape-shifting master of darkness unleashed an unspeakable evil."

The first page she revealed had the crude crayon drawing of a Japanese kingdom over which loomed a dark creature with green eyes and flaming red eyebrows.

She turned to the next page, which revealed yet another crude crayon drawing of Ninja Star fighting off the evil monster. "But then Ninja Star came along with his magic sword and stepped forward to oppose him, and the two of them had an epic fight scene."

Flipping to the next page, she displayed yet another drawing of the monster opening a black and white portal into which he shoved Ninja Star. "But before he could strike the final blow, he was thrown into a portal in time, and flung into the future."

The final page Pinkie showed had Ninja Star standing with his sword drawn in a fighting pose. "Now he seeks to return to the past and undo that evil future."

Rarity continued to scratch her chin. "Well, Pinkie, that is certainly quite the imagination you have there."

Pinkie Pie gleamed. "Thank you! I drew it all myself."

Rarity gave a gentle shrug. "On the bright side, even with Fluttershy's change, at least we can rest assured that Ponyville will always remain the same."

Three arrows flew over their heads and into the stall, forcing the owner to yell and duck under the counter as they barely missed him.

The three fillies turned to see three shadow ninja archers standing atop a nearby roof with their bows aimed at them. Throughout the marketplace appeared other shadow ninjas in puffs of smoke.  
Rarity dropped her ears. "Except, of course, for the raids by the Shadow Clan."

* * *

Ninja Star turned to see as three shadow-colored ponies with glowing red eyes appeared in puffs of purple smoke. As soon as their smoke dissipated, the three leapt toward him.

Ninja Star, in turn, leapt up from atop the wooden post he was sitting upon, and in a single motion, drew his kendo stick and twirled around in a complete circle, striking each of the three ninja as they approached him.

As each one was struck by his stick, the ninja disappeared in the same purple smoke that they had appeared in.

Once he landed upon the ground, Ninja Star was surrounded only by the fading traces of the purple smoke clouds.

Standing up, he surveyed his surrounding to see what going on. Throughout the city were dozens upon dozens of other shadow ponies, racing through the streets, destroying property, and frightening and even attacking innocent civilians.

With kendo stick drawn, Ninja Star dashed forward and raced through the streets, all the while, the cries of frightened civilians echoing through the streets and ringing within his ears.

Soon, he found himself surrounded by five more purple smoke clouds, disappearing to reveal more shadow ponies. This time, these ponies were equipped with weapons: one with a katana, two with nun-chucks, and two more with sai blades.

All five leapt toward Ninja Star, who, with a single spin, took out each one with his bamboo stick, striking their weapons from out of their grasps, and striking them in turn. All five disappeared once more into the purple smoke from whence they came.

Upon sheathing his stick, Ninja Star heard two shrill, familiar screams cry out from nearby. He quickly recognized who they were, and started racing into the direction from whence they came.  
He turned down an alleyway, and raced toward a storefront, the curtain within the doorway having been shredded to pieces.

It was Tsuri and Hana's shop.

* * *

Once the shadow ponies appeared within the marketplace, Pinkie Pie took a few steps forward and began nonchalantly addressing everyone: "Okay, everypony, follow my lead!"

With that, she gave a loud scream and began running around. Everyone else followed suit as the shadow ninja launched their attack. Most of the other ponies in the market either ran for cover or made their way inside. Very few remained outside with the Shadow Clan.

Rarity and Pinkie were rushing out of the marketplace when two shadow ninja appeared in front of them. The ninjas nearly pounced on the two fillies when a yellow blur intercepted their attack and struck them each with a bamboo stick, making them disappear in purple puffs.

The yellow blur disappeared, revealing Fluttershy as she spun the bamboo in her hooves several times before posing with it in a fighting stance. "No pony hurts my friends."

Rarity had to rub her eyes to make sure that what she was seeing was really there: a Fluttershy not running away from a threat and cowering somewhere, but taking a brave stand against it.

A circle of six shadow ninja soon surrounded the three fillies in smoke puffs. Rarity and Pinkie clung to each other as the ninjas leapt towards them. Before a single one could attack, Fluttershy struck down each one with her bamboo stick. However, she missed one, which struck her on the chin and sent her flying back upon her rump.

As that ninja charged toward her, a kunai knife stuck him in the back and made him disappear in a smoke puff.

The three fillies gazed up toward a nearby rooftop where stood Ninja Star.

* * *

Tsuri and Hana huddled within the corner of their store, the case containing their family necklace behind them. Hana buried her weeping face in her mother's bosom as Tsuri held her close.

Over them loomed the shadow of a giant purple praying mantis standing atop their counter and glaring over them with his pincers raised.

"The necklace," Slash said. "Hand it over, and no one gets hurt."

Tsuri glared at him as she held her daughter closer and tighter. "That necklace is our family heirloom. You cannot have it."

Slash groaned. "Well, then, I guess I'll have to take it the hard way."

"Or perhaps you will leave these poor mares alone and leave," boomed a voice behind him.

Slash turned to find Ninja Star standing within the doorway with his bamboo stick drawn and ready to fight.

Slash rolled his eyes. "The brave warrior comes to save the damsel in distress? Predictable."

Ninja Star dashed forward, prompting Slash to leap down from the counter to the floor and parry his attack.

The sword pony struck three times at the praying mantis, each time having his attack deflected by the mantis's pincers. By the fourth strike, Slash retaliated with one slash of his metal pincer that sliced through Ninja Star's bamboo, cutting it in half.

As the other half of his staff dropped to the floor, Ninja Star felt his heart drop into his stomach.  
Slash leapt into the air with a summersault, and with his legs, kicked Ninja Star away across the store and into the wall, forcing him to painfully collapse onto the floor.

"Ninja Star!" Hana cried out, he face streaming with fresher tears that she buried into her mother's blouse.

Slash snickered. "So much for the brave hero."

He turned once more to the frightened mother and child, with Hana crying even louder.

"I'll say it once more: the necklace, hand it over."

Tsuri buried her face into her child's hair. "That necklace has been in our family for generations. It is the only thing of value we have."

Slash leapt over counter towards them. The tremor of the floor boards caused them both to shudder as the mantis approached.

Struggling to lift his head out of the fresh rubble surrounding him, Ninja Star could only watch as Slash approached the two cowering mares.

"More valuable than your lives?" Slash asked them, raising his pincers. "So be it!"

Slash gave a single violent slash. The two mares let out the loudest screams that soon fell to silence.  
He then raised his pincer once more and struck the case, breaking away the glass. He reached inside to take the necklace by the chain, inspecting the jewel as it dangled before his face.

Just then, a puff of purple smoke appeared, along with a kappa dressed in wizard robes—Squish.  
"I see you have obtained the amulet, Slash," he said as he approached the mantis.

Slash swung his pincer at Squish to show him the necklace dangling from it. "Is it the one that the Shadow Mare desires?"

Squish took the amulet and examined it carefully. His hand glowed with blue magic, causing the amulet to glow along with it.

The magic from his hand faded as he furrowed his brow in scorn. "Bah! 'tis a counterfeit. The gem itself isn't even real."

Slash groaned in turn. "Figures that an artifact as powerful and legendary as the Amulet of Purity would hardly be in the hands of lowly peasants."

From Squish's hand began to form sparks of electricity, which encompassed the amulet and grew in intensity, illuminating the entire shop with a bright light. In a single flash, the sapphire exploded, shattering into countless fragments.

This desecration both shocked and angered Ninja Star as he lay on the floor, too weak to do anything else but watch as his close friend's most precious artifact was destroyed.

Squish returned his gaze from the destroyed amulet. "The Shadow Mare will not be pleased about this."

Slash scoured back at Squish. "If I remember correctly, the intelligence that led us here was your own. Clearly your own flawed intelligence is at fault."

Squish groaned as he glared at the mantis. "My intelligence is never flawed, but that is beside the point. The Shadow Clan will simply have to continue its search for the Amulet elsewhere."  
With that, both the mantis and kappa wizard disappeared into puffs of smoke.

It was at that time that Ninja Star found enough strength within him to pull himself up. As he did so, he stumbled across the floor toward where Tsuri and Hana lay. He could barely stomach to look at them—or rather, what remained of them—but the gruesome image he saw filled him with a mix of disgust, rage, and remorse.

Along his bruised face trickled a single tear that fell to the hardwood floor below.

* * *

Before he could say or do anything, Ninja Star found himself flying across the roof as a foe came from his right and kicked him. He drew his sword and drove it into the roof before he could fall off, then whipped it before him as two claws came flying down upon him. Standing right over him was Slash.

"I hope you're ready to fight this time." Slash said as he pressed against Ninja Star's blade.  
Ninja Star gave a mighty shove, throwing Slash off of him. He twirled his sword once before aiming it at Slash.

The two then leapt at one another and engaged in a dance of swords, each striking and countering the other. After a few seconds of exchanging blows, Ninja Star leapt back toward another roof and threw a kunai knife at Slash, who leapt into the air to dodge and fluttered his wings to hover in the air. He readied his claws before him, glowing red with energy.

"X Slash attack!" he screamed, thrusting his claws forwards, sending two red energy beams at Ninja Star, who back-flipped away from the attack.

Slash flew towards Ninja Star and crashed into him, only to be tossed across the roof. Ninja Star raised his sword and lunged toward Slash, who, with one slash of his claw, knocked him off the roof and onto the ground. Ninja Star groaned as he tried picking himself up, but the fall had knocked the wind out of him, weakening him significantly.

Slash glanced down at Ninja Star. "Heh, looks like your no more stronger when we first met, eh, brave warrior?"

He leapt off the roof and toward the fallen ninja. Before he could land, a yellow blur intercepted him, and with one strike of its bamboo stick, sent him flying into a nearby wall. Slash picked himself up and saw as Fluttershy stood over Ninja Star with her bamboo stick ready.

Slash scoffed. "I did not come to fight two ponies. Consider this a forfeit."

Slash disappeared in a puff of smoke along with the remaining shadow ninjas.

Fluttershy knelt next to Ninja Star and picked him up. "Are you alright?"

Ninja Star groaned slightly as he clenched his side. "Just a few bruised ribs. Other than that, I'm fine."

"Fluttershy, darling!" Rarity called out as she approached them with Pinkie Pie by her side. "That was magnificently breath-taking the way you fought off those ninjas. I must say, I never thought you had it in you."

Fluttershy blushed. "Oh, it was nothing really. It was because of Ninja Star's training that I was able to do all that."

"Well if he can train you to pull off those awesome ninja moves, he can train anypony!" Pinkie exclaimed. In a pink blur she disappeared and re-appeared with a pink scarf wrapped around her head. She knelt before Ninja Star. "Oh, great ninja master, will you humbly accept another pupil for your training?"

And everyone laughed.

* * *

"You were very fortunate that my men were able to find you, and that your injuries were not serious," Ninja Star's father spoke to him from behind the paper screen.

Time had passed since the altercation, and whatever injuries Ninja Star had received have since healed. Now Ninja Star once again stood kneeling with his head bowed in reverence before his father as he behind his paper screen.

"Had I known that you wished to travel about our kingdom, I would have more than permitted you to do so," his father continued. "There was no need for you to sneak away behind my back."

Ninja Star kept his head bowed. "My apologies, father, and what of the Shadow Clan?"

"What about them?" his father replied.

"They attacked our kingdom and our subjects, and they managed to kill at least two of them."

"I have since strengthened our kingdom's security. There is nothing else that we need to concern ourselves about them."

"My apologies, father, but they are still out there and they still have malicious intent."

"Our intelligence has informed us that they have escaped the boundaries of our kingdom, and if what you have told me about them is true, then they clearly have their aspirations set somewhere else."

Ninja Star rose from his kneeling position. He was through maintaining appearances. "Their aspirations are to harm anyone they come across in order to pursue their own selfish gains. They have already harmed citizens within our own kingdom, and they could very well harm those within other kingdoms."

"That is no concern of ours—"

Ninja Star snapped. "It's a concern of mine!"

Silence hung between the two, tensions clearly rising between them.

"I have seen with my own eyes the evil they commit on others, how they have no reservations with attacking the powerless and defenseless. They cannot be allowed to roam freely, even if they no longer do so within our kingdom. It is beyond shameful to do nothing about this evil, and if you will do nothing about it, then I will."

"You would betray your own father's wishes and leave our kingdom to pursue this small band of mere ruffians?" His father asked, anger clear within his voice, though his silhouette revealed him to be sitting calm and collected.

"As long as they pose a threat to others, I will. It would be more dishonorable for me to allow them to commit such evil while I and everyone else do nothing."

His father bowed his head in deep thought. Ninja Star stood his ground, expecting his father to bark back at him for speaking out of turn and for suggesting to betray his wishes and abandon his kingdom.

His father lifted his head, and though Ninja Star could not see it, he was smiling the biggest smile.  
"My son," he said in a more pleased tone, "You have earned the right to bear our family sword."

Ninja Star gasped and raised an eyebrow confused. "Forgive me father, but I do not understand."

"I told you that you would only be able to inherit our sword if you proved to be strong enough, when your heart cried out for justice, and you could not cry out any louder than you are now."

Ninja Star turned to gaze at the sword sitting upon the altar next to him.

"Take it, my son, and go forth," his father instructed. "You have earned the right to wield it. You cannot embark on your righteous crusade without it."

His heart racing within his chest, Ninja Star approached the altar. He reached for the sword and unsheathed it from its scabbard. With a single motion, he whipped it out before him within a fighting stance, before eventually re-sheathing it, strapping it to his belt, and bowing before his father.

"My gratitude, father," he said. "I will not fail you."

* * *

As the four ponies made their way back to Fluttershy's cottage, Ninja Star reached into his shirt and pulled out a pink cherry blossom that he carefully studied.

As Ninja Star gazed at the cherry blossom, Fluttershy, who was walking next to him, took notice of it.

"Oh, my, that is a beautiful flower," she commented.

Ninja Star broke his gaze from the flower to focus on the filly next to him. "It is a cherry blossom, the native flower of my homeland. Sometimes I look at it and reflect upon its beauty."

He then offered it to Fluttershy. "Somehow, I feel that its beauty would be better accentuated by your own within your hair."

With a blush, Fluttershy accepted. "Oh, thank you."

She took the flower and placed it in-between her ear. "It most certainly looks pretty, but, I suspect you carried it with you for more than its beauty."

Ninja Star nodded. "It is a reminder of my mission."

* * *

Upon a grassy hill overlooking the city and harbor, as the sun was setting upon the horizon, casting everything with an orange hue, Ninja Star knelt underneath the shade of a cherry blossom tree, its canopy in full bloom with pink and white cherry blossoms.

Before him lay two mounds of freshly-turned soil, each one with a wooden marker planted at their head. One had the name of "Tsuri"; the other, "Hana."

As Ninja Star knelt before the two graves, he had his head bowed and eyes closed in reverence. He considered this location for the graves most ideal, as within his language, "Hana" meant blossom, and "Tsuri" meant tree.

Upon finishing his silent prayers, he unstrapped his sheathed sword from him waist and held it before him with both hooves as one would make an offering.

"Tsuri, Hana," he said. "Your passing will not be in vain."

With a flick of his hoof, he unsheathed the sword by a good inch, revealing an inch of the blade, its metal reflecting the light from the setting sun.

He stood. "I will not avenge your deaths, for there is no honor in revenge. However, I swear upon your graves that I will fight to bring justice to those who deserve it most."

He fully unsheathed the sword from its scabbard and held it before him within a fighting stance, almost as if he were about to attack. "I will fight to defend those who cannot defend themselves, and help bring power to those who are otherwise powerless."

Opening his eyes, he noticed as a single cherry blossom floated away from the tree and fell towards the ground, eventually gracefully landing upon the foot of Hana's grave marker.

* * *

**Rainbow Dash:** Hey, it's me, Rainbow Dash! Sky Wind, you mean to tell me you haven't gotten your memories back? Well, don't worry, perhaps we can try something today that will get them back ASAP.

**Sky Wind:** I don't know. Sometimes I'm afraid of getting them back.

**Rainbow Dash:** What do you mean?

**Sky Wind:** Well, the day I lost my memories was the day I met you. What happens if I get my memories back and I forget all about you?

**Rainbow Dash:** Next time on My Little Pony: "Do I Wish To Remember? Searching For Skywind's Lost Memories." Hey, how can you possibly forget a pony like me?

* * *

**My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and characters © Hasbro and Lauren Faust**  
**Xander © Me**  
**Skywind © ex626AKAKeon**  
**Ninja Star © ninjaninjanoob23 **

**Voice Credits**

Twilight Sparkle ...Tara Strong  
Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy...Andrea Libman  
Applejack, Rainbow Dash...Ashleigh Ball  
Rarity, Princess Luna...Tabitha St. Germain  
Princess Celestia...Nicole Oliver  
Spike...Cathy Weseluck  
Xander...Vic Mignogna  
Sky Wind...Antony Del Rio  
Ninja Star...Dave Wittenberg  
Squish...Samuel Vincent  
Swoosh...Derek Stephen Prince  
Slash...Roger Labon Jackson  
Shadow Mare...Susanne Blakeslee  
Black Stallion...Ron Perlman  
LaRousse...Sam Riegel  
Ninja Star's Father...Darren Dunstan  
Tsuri...Veronica Taylor  
Hana...Lara Jill Miller


	6. Episode 06

**_My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_**** presents**

_**The Dark Stallion**_

**Episode 06: Do I Wish To Remember? Searching For Sky Wind's Lost Memories.**

* * *

_Last time on My Little Pony:_

_Following an attack on the Apple Family farm by the Shadow Clan, Ninja Star comforted Fluttershy and agreed to train her in self-defense. His training caused her to become obsessed with him and his culture, to the point where her friends hardly recognized her. However, as over-the-top as she acted, her training managed to pay off after she helped fend off the Shadow Clan during another attack. Does Fluttershy now have the power to help Ninja Star and the others defeat the Shadow Clan?_

* * *

Rainbow Dash raced alongside Sky Wind as the two pegasi soared in the blue sky over Ponyville. They both laughed and giggled, zig-zagging past the clouds, sometimes even flying through them. Even though they were engaged in a friendly race, both remained determined to win, as each tried to fly ahead of the other. Sometimes Rainbow Dash was in the lead; other times, it was Sky Wind.

Sky Wind slowly inched ahead of Rainbow Dash. "I'm going to beat you!"

"Oh, no you're not!" Dash replied, squinting her eyes as she flapped her wings harder and faster, pulling ahead of Sky Wind.

In the end, it did not matter to either of them who was winning. They really just enjoyed being in each other's company and having fun with each other.

Which is why Sky Wind became distraught when Rainbow Dash vanished in a purple puff of smoke.  
Sky Wind halted. Turning back, he saw only purple wisps where Rainbow Dash used to be.

"Rainbow Dash?!" he exclaimed.

The sky shifted from blue to red and became blanketed with black clouds that crackled with thunder and lightning.

Sky Wind shuddered at the sudden change in weather. His nose then itched at the smell of fire and brimstone. Looking down toward the earth, he gasped upon seeing all of Ponyville engulfed in flames. He flew toward the town where all the buildings lay smoldering in ruin. Aside from the debris, the streets were completely empty with not a single pony in sight. The only noise in the air was the loud crackling of fire.

This had happened so suddenly that Sky Wind could barely comprehend it. He began to hyperventilate, choking from the stench of fire and smoke.

"What's going on?" He exclaimed. "Who did all this?"

A loud laugh erupted from the sky above, sending a shiver down Sky Wind's spine. He turned to see the dark clouds spiral into a figure of a black alicorn.

"You of all people should know," the stallion boasted in a booming voice as he looked down upon Sky Wind. "You're the one who helped create this."

Sky Wind shook his head frantically. "That's not true! I would never do anything like this."

"Oh, but you have," the stallion replied. "And you will."

Sky Wind closed his eyes and shuddered in fear. "No. No. NO!"

His eyes shot wide opened.

He had awakened on his cloud, upon which he had been sleeping.

Sky Wind inspected his surroundings. It was still nighttime. He took a few deep breaths before lowering his head, closing his eyes, and returning to sleep.

It was only a nightmare, and yet, to him, it felt so real. Too real!

* * *

At the library, Twilight grabbed a book from the top shelf using her magic and began flipping through its pages. "I know there's a spell for recovering memories in here somewhere. I saw it in here last time, although that was about a month ago."

She placed her chin on her hoof as she gazed upward. "Or maybe that's a different spell book I'm thinking of."

She glanced at one of the pages. "Nope. This is it!"

She placed her hoof on the page with the title "Memory Retrieval Spell." She scrunched her face as she scanned its contents. "Says here that this is a very advanced spell that should only be attempted by experts. I'm sure I'm advanced enough to use it."

She carried the book over to Sky Wind, who was sitting in an armchair with Rainbow Dash standing next to him. At a table at the far edge of the library sat Xander, who was quietly reading his own book.

Twilight placed her fore-hooves on the arm rests of Sky Wind's chair and leant over him.

"Are you sure this will work?" Sky Wind asked, nervousness being heard in his voice.

Twilight was scanning the directions to the spell. "Apparently, it has an 85 percent chance of success."

"And the other 15 percent?" Sky Wind asked.

"You wind up in a coma!" Twilight replied nonchalantly, shutting the book and placing it down.

Sky Wind gave a heavy gulp and glanced at Rainbow Dash.

"Relax," Dash consoled him, taking his hoof. "Twilight here is excellent with magic. She helped me and the others recover our memories when we were brainwashed by Discord."

"Yes, but only because we shared the same memories," Twilight added. "With Sky Wind here, I'm trying to recover memories neither of us have. So it's not exactly the same thing."

Twilight closed her eyes and placed her horn against Sky Wind's forehead, which, upon contact, began to glow with a purple aura. Skywind gave a timid shudder as he felt the magic radiating against his forehead.

"Now just relax and think happy thoughts," Twilight instructed. "Hopefully, some of them will be your lost memories."

As Twilight's horn began to glow brighter, Sky Wind felt energy surging into his mind, as if cold water was being poured into his skull. He soon lost control of his own thoughts as his mind began to recall memories without him thinking about them. Unfortunately, they were only the most recent memories he had since first losing his old ones.

"Are you beginning to remember anything?" Twilight asked.

"Nothing new," Sky Wind replied. "No."

Twilight's horn glowed brighter. "How about now?"

"No."

Twilight's horn glowed even brighter. "How about—"

Before Twilight could finish, she saw within her own mind the face of a dark mare with red eyes glaring back at her, hissing. Twilight yelped and fell backwards. The light from her horn faded away.

"Twilight!" Dash exclaimed, falling on her knees next to her fallen friend to help her up. "What happened?"

Twilight groaned as she massaged her temples. She was now suffering from the worst headache she had ever experienced. "I'm not sure. Some sort of mental backlash, I think. It's as if there's a magical barrier around his mind."

Xander shut his book loud enough for everyone to hear. "Amateur."

Everyone turned to him as he stood up and began walking towards them.

"Sounds like his missing memories are being repressed deep within his subconscious," Xander said.

"Clearly it's going to take more than just a memory retrieval spell to get them back."

Twilight raised her eyebrow. "What are you suggesting?"

Xander stopped in front of Sky Wind. "A mind probe."

"What's that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"A spell that allows one to retrieve memories from another pony's mind." Xander said, placing his forehooves on the armrests. "The military uses it when interrogating enemy combatants in order to retrieve intelligence from them, especially when they won't cooperate."

Twilight gasp. "That sounds like torture."

Xander gave a smirk. "More like an enhanced interrogation technique."

His horn began to glow dark blue as he placed it against Sky Wind's forehead.

"I suggest holding your breath," he said as his horn glowed brighter.

Sky Wind gave an exasperated grunt. He squirmed in pain as energy penetrated his mind like a hot blade. "I preferred it when Twilight was doing this."

"Consider this the bad cop version," Xander remarked.

As Xander's horn glowed brighter, the pain within Sky Wind's head grew more intense. Sky Wind was beginning to remember everything in reverse, starting from when he first entered the library that day, all the way back to when he recovered from his crash. The further back he went in his own memories, the harsher the throbbing pain in his head intensified. Before his memories could regress any further, the face of the dark mare with the red glowing eyes once again appeared, hissing within his mind and that of Xander's.

Xander's horn emitted a bright flash of dark blue light, which launched him backwards into one of the bookshelves, burying him under a mountain of books, while Sky Wind's was propelled backwards in his chair. Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash were blinded by the flash and thrown upon their rumps.

"What the hay was that?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, picking herself off the ground while pulling Twilight up with her.

"Another magical backlash," Twilight said with a groan, rubbing her rump. "Stronger than the last one."

Xander sat up from under the pile of books that buried him. "Tell me about it." He picked himself up, and dusted himself off. "Whatever is keeping Sky Wind's memories suppressed is clearly too powerful for magic."

"So I'm never getting my memories back?" Sky Wind asked, still sitting in his chair on the ground.  
Rainbow Dash walked over to the chair and set it up straight. "Of course you will. It just won't be done with magic."

"Or at least with a magic spell," Twilight said, scratching her chin as she thought.

"What do you mean?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Perhaps what we need is a magic potion," Twilight said as she thought of a certain zebra.

* * *

Zecora peered into Sky Wind's mouth using a tongue depressor. Her flashlight caused his uvula to cast a shadow in the back of his throat. She then aimed her light into his right eye, causing it to dilate, allowing her to more easily peer into it.

Sky Wind sat on a stool within Zecora's cottage as she inspected him. Standing nearby was Dash and Apple Bloom.

"So you can whip up a potion to get his memory back?" Dash asked.

"Course she can!" Apple Bloom replied. "She has tonics that heal all sorts of ailments. Bad bones, bad back, bad breath...and amnesia, too. Right, Zecora?"

Zecora flicked off her light and nodded as she walked towards her brewing pot. From a nearby bookshelf, she grabbed a book and cracked it open.

"If amnesia is this young colt's ailment, then I know of the perfect treatment."

She flipped through a few pages before setting it next to her pot.

"This memory recovery potion I will brew, is sure to return your lost memories to you."

From the table next to her, she poured a bottle of blue liquid, making the contents of her pot turn purple. She stirred the pot with her wooden spoon before adding a few dashes of red powder, which made the brew send up a puff of green smoke as its contents also turned green.

"Soon, all you have lost, you will get back." She scanned the countless bottles in the cabinet next to her, but when she could not find what she was looking for, she gave a startled, "Oh! but it appears there's an ingredient that I lack!"

Sky Wind groaned. "Figures that the final ingredient to the potion for my missing memories is missing."

She picked up her book and showed it to the other ponies. The page she pointed to displayed a purple sketch of a flower.

"The forget-me-not flower, as its name implies, is the plant that will make your lost memories arise, from the dark recesses of your brain, and your former self, you shall regain."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Alright! So what aisle of the grocery store are we going to find this in?"  
Apple Bloom face-hoofed.

Zecora merely shook her head. "To the edge of the forest you must go, for that is where this flower does grow."

* * *

A few miles away in Froggy Bottom Pond, three shadowy figures traversed through the thick fog. As the fog dissipated, it revealed the three to be Squish, Swoosh, and Slash.

The kappa wizard led the tengu and giant praying mantis as they trekked through the mud and fought against the bramble and branches.

"So reminds me again why we's is going through this gosh-forsaken swamp?" Swoosh asked as a branch smacked him in the face, and he promptly swatted it away.

"Because in this swamp dwells a creature of gargantuan proportions and even more gargantuan power," Squish said as he led the three onward.

Slash slashed away the encroaching branches with his claws like a machete. "And why, pray tell, are we searching for this creature?"

"Because its power could easily be harnessed and utilized by the Shadow Clan to help further our cause," Squish replied.

"But isn't that what's our shadow ponies is for?" Swoosh asked.

"The shadow ponies serve as faithful minions to carry out our bidding in some situations, but a beast of such magnitude could be even more beneficial in other situations," Squish said, "or at least helpful for you two. I don't really need that assistance. You two, on the other hand—"

His comments forced Swoosh and Slash to stop and glare angrily at him.

Slash crossed his arms. "You do realize that the both of us are capable of fighting our own fights?"

Squish stopped in his tracks and turned to face the other two. "As can I, which is why I do not need assistance from my shadow unicorns. I have sufficient magic on my own to fight my own battles and carry out my own task. I do not have to rely on them as the both of you rely on your shadow pegasi and shadow ponies."

Swoosh likewise crossed his arms in anger? "Oh yeah, and if yous is so powerful, than who dos you need the two of us for this here mission?"

The three of them were too busy bickering with one another to notice that the fog was rolling back in—a green fog that reeked like bad breath. Also oblivious to the three of them was a scaly appendage slithering up around and behind them.

"I'm only stuck with you two dunderheads because the Shadow Mare herself ordered us to take up this mission," Squish retorted, both arms upon his hip. "I don't need help from either of you. I'm powerful enough to take that hydra down myself.

He gave a cough as the green gas filled his nostrils, the foul odor overpowering them. He did not notice as four scaly appendages rose from out of the mud behind him.

"Why, if I were to encounter it, I would easily incapacitate him as I would—I—I—"

Once more he let out a cough and rubbed his eyes as the gas burned it. When he was finished, he noticed that both Swoosh and Slash were gazing above him with horrified expressions. He then noticed the large shadow enveloping the three of them.

"I take it the beast is right behind me?" He asked, almost wishing for no answer.

He turned.

Rising from out of the swamp, and towering over the three lackeys, were four necks, and attached to those four necks were four heads, each with jaws that showed their sharp fangs from which slithered their forked tongues, and each with snake-like eyes that glared down at their next meal.

The four hydra heads each let out a roar that caused the three lackeys to take a few paces back.

"Tells me again what yous was gonna do when you met that Hydra?" Swoosh asked.

Squish gulped. "Simple, really."

He turned upon his heels and raced past his two companions, "RUN!"

The other two followed suit as one of the heads lunged towards them and nearly snap his teeth at them, failing to catch them.

As the three ran screaming through the swamp, the hydra followed in pursuit, roaring and gnashing its teeth as it chased down its prey.

* * *

Hidden within the crevices of the rocky crag overlooking the border between Froggy Bottom Bog and the Everfree Forest grew a small bushel of blue flowers. It were these flowers that were the fabled forget-me-nots. It were these flowers that were the final ingredient to Zecora's memory potion. And it were these flowers that Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind discovered when they approached the base of the rocky cliff.

The two pegasi were standing right underneath the bushel from the ground as Sky Wind pointed in their direction. "There they are, the forget-me-nots."

With a wiggle of her hindquarters, Dash leapt from the ground and flew up towards the blue flowers, catching them within her teeth as she flew by them.

She landed gracefully on the top of the cliff, where she could hold them up with her hooves for Sky Wind to see.

"Less than ten seconds flat!" she bragged. "Now let's get these babies to Zecora so she can…"

Before she could finished her sentence, a sudden tremble from the ground caused her to nearly lose her footing and fall off the cliff. Fortunately, she was able to keep balance and avoid falling off.

Then came another tremble. And another. And another.

Sky Wind could feel the ground violently tremble beneath his hooves. He noticed as the small rocks and gravel surrounding him gave a slight bounce with each tremble. The rocks bounced higher and higher the more the trembles intensified.

Neither of the pegasi could tell what was causing the ground to shake. At first, they though it was an earthquake, but dismissed that possibility, as earthquakes were not this sporadic.

The trembling felt and sounded almost like footsteps, only louder and heavier, almost like they were those of a giant beast.

The two soon discovered the source of the ground shakes.

From the forest sprang the three figures of Squish, Swoosh, and Slash—all three scrambling and screaming in fear. Their sudden emergence from the forest were hardly surprising for either Rainbow Dash or Sky Wind. What was surprising to them was what was following the trio.

Looming over the treetops were four scaly necks, and attached to these necks were four equally scaly heads, the eyes of which were glaring down at the three racing lackeys, who soon found themselves cornered against the wall of the rocky cliff.

Sky Wind shirked back at the sight of the four-headed beast. He had never seen anything like it before in his life—which was mostly due to his amnesia.

"What in Celestia's name is that thing?" he exclaimed.

"A Hydra!" Rainbow Dash answered, pointing at it. "Four times the heads. Four times the trouble."  
Sky Wind soon shifted his attention from the beast to the three lackeys cowering in fear against the wall of the cliff. He glared at them.

"You three," he yelled at them. "Are you responsible for this?"

"Who cares!" exclaimed Squish. "Not my problem anymore. I'm outta here."

He lifted the hand holding his staff and disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

"Me too," Slash said, throwing down his arms and also disappearing in a similar puff of smoke.

"And mes three," Swoosh exclaimed, raising his staff in the air.

Nothing happened.

He looked around, confused. "Oh, wait! I don't has a disappearing trick."

The shadow underneath him began to grow. He looked down, then looked up, the eyes of the hydra looking back down at him in hunger.

"Uh oh!" Swoosh uttered.

Licking its lips, the hyrda lunged at the tengu, who leapt out of the way as the hydra's head crashed into the cliff wall.

Both the impact of the hydra and the passing of Swoosh caused Dash to lose her footing once more. She still managed to keep her balance, but lost her grip on the flowers, which drifted down to the ground.

The flowers in his sight, Sky Wind dashed after them; but before he could catch them, they were caught by the talons of Swoosh.

"Well, well, well," Swoosh commented as he inspected his catch. "What do we have here? A pretty bouquet of flowers?"

"Give them back," Sky Wind exclaimed, lunging for them, only for Swoosh to pull them away from his reach.

"So yous wants this?" Swoosh asked with a cackle. "Well, then, yous have to gets them from me."  
With that, Swoosh darted away and soared over the cliff.

"Hey, give them back!" Sky Wind said as he flew off after him.

"Sky Wind!" Dash exclaimed as she rushed in pursuit of her friend, only to be cut off by a hydra head lunging at her, forcing her to stumble back onto the ground.

Raising her head from out of the dust, she looked up to see the hydra glaring down at her with all four heads, one of which let out a roar before lunging toward her with open maw.

Too dazed from her fall, Dash could only shut her eyes as the hydra lunged at her. She heard a sharp metal slash, followed by a painful cry from the hydra.

She opened one eye and saw as the side of the hydra's face was slightly grazed. She looked down to see a kunai knife sticking out of the ground. Looking up toward the top of the cliff, she saw Ninja Star standing on its edge with Fluttershy at his side.

While the hydra was distracted, Rainbow Dash leapt up and flew to where Ninja Star and Fluttershy were standing.

"Thank Celestia, you guys came!" Dash exclaimed. "But what brings you two to this neck of the woods?"

"Ninja Star-kun and I were practicing our martial arts in the Everfree Forest," Fluttershy answered. "The serenity of the forest allows for a tranquil place to practice."

"Though things do not seem so tranquil now," Ninja Star interjected.

The three gazed down upon the hydra as its four heads kept lunging at them, only to be kept out of reach from the height of the cliff.

"I'm afraid I am not familiar with this type of beast," Ninja Star continued, scratching his chin.

Rainbow Dash pointed at the monster below. "That's a hydra. Four times the heads. Four times the attitude.

Ninja Star drew his katana. "Well it's about to have one head less."

He leapt from the cliff and raised his sword above his head as he fell toward the beast.

Fluttershy reached out after him, screaming "No!"

Ninja Star gave one quick slash before landing on the ground, one of the hydra's head landing next to him. He turned to face the beast and saw its other three heads writhing in anger and pain while its fourth neck flailed wildly.

"That's one head down, three more to go," he said to himself.

His confident expression quickly faded to shock as the freshly severed hydra neck split into two, with each sprouting a single head.

"Or make that five!"

The two new hydra heads roared in anger as they lunged at their attacker.

Ninja Star managed to leap away from their attack and onto their heads, spring-boarding himself back onto the cliff next to Dash and Fluttershy.

"Are you crazy?" Dash exclaimed. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"That creature grew two more heads!" was Ninja Star's only response.

"You can't cut off a Hydra's head," Fluttershy replied. "It will only grow two more in its place."

"Yeah," Dash added. "The only way to kill it is to cut off all of its heads at the same time."

Ninja Star drew his sword once more. "I'll take that as a challenge!"

Fluttershy flung her arm in front of him, stopping him from leaping down.

"No, you can't do that!" she told him.

"I assure you, Fluttershy-san, my blade is capable of striking down multiple opponents, or in this case, one opponent with multiple heads."

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, Ninja Star-kun, I mean you shouldn't do it. That hydra may be attacking us, but it's still a living creature, and every creature, great or small, deserves to live."

"Uh, hello?" Dash exclaimed, motioning to the hydra snapping its jaws at them from below. "Maybe you should tell that to them?"

"That hydra isn't evil," Fluttershy insisted. "It's only cranky because the Shadow Clan invaded its home. It doesn't deserve to die."

Ninja Star seethed his sword. "Fluttershy-san, your heart far exceeds your beauty. If you insist that this creature live, then we will consider an alternative plan to subduing it."

Rainbow Dash scratched her chin as she gazed down at the hydra below, its four heads furiously trying to snap at the three ponies, but futilely as its four necks were a few feet too short to reach them.

Her attention was then drawn to the forest behind it. The trees near the outlier of the forest were mostly mangroves and cypresses, with massive roots that mangled and tangled wildly in either direction.

It was then that a light bulb flashed within her mind as a plan came to her.

"And I know just how to do that," she said before whispering her secret intents to the other two.

After telling them of her plan, and ensuring that they understood, she dove off of the cliff and towards the hydra, who lunged one head with open maw at her but missed as she quickly diverted her flight path.

She flew right behind them and levitated in midair, placing her forehooves on her hips.

"Hey ugly, how come you have five heads but not a single brain among you?" she taunted.

This taunt angered the hydra as all five heads roared furiously.

Dash flew into the forest, and the hydra nearly followed her, but was stopped as both Fluttershy and Ninja Star each landed on one of the hydra's heads before leaping off and landing in front of it.

Fluttershy flicked her tail and waggled her flank.

"Catch me if you can, big boy!" was her remark before she and her ninja companion raced into the forest.

This angered the hydra even more so as it roared even louder and took off in pursuit of the three ponies.

Rainbow Dash zig-zagged among the trees, with one of the hydra's heads following close behind her.

Fluttershy did likewise as she wove through the trees and even their roots, another hydra head pursuing her.

Ninja Star, being an earth pony, leapt from tree branch to tree branch, from one tree to the next, with hydra head in pursuit, and in some cases snapping at the tree branch he last leapt off of.

The three ponies drew the hyrda heads through the forest until they eventually made a U-turn and exited the forest from where they entered.

The hydra lunged after them, but ended up stumbling upon itself. Its heads had been drawn through the trees and tree roots, causing its neck to be woven within them like a complicated stitch pattern.

The three ponies stood at the forest's edge and watched as the hydra struggled to pry any of its heads loose from its tangled mess, only to fail.

With a satisfied look on her face, Dash glanced at Ninja Star and motioned toward the hydra. "How's that for non-violent?"

Just then, the hydra gave one large tug with each of its heads, prying the trees out of the ground by the roots with it. It shook furiously, tossing aside the trees and dirt, and glared at the three ponies, who soon found themselves forced up against the cliff walls with worried expressions.

Ninja Star drew his sword once more. "Looks like we have no choice but to resort to violence."

All five hydra heads lunged forward with mouths wide open, ready to devour the three ponies upon impact. Before any of their teeth could chomp down on pony meat, one of its head was hit with a bag full of purple powder, causing the five heads to become enveloped with a purple dusty cloud.

All five heads roared out in agony, but quickly became drowsy as they inhaled the purple dust. Soon the beast was unable to stand upon its feet and began to sway back and forth until it topped over, its heads falling limp to the ground with eyes closed tight and tongues dangling out of their mouths.

Standing boldly next to the beast was the pony who had thrown the bag of powder: Zecora, with Apple Bloom at her side.

"Good thing I rushed here in a hurry, or else the three of you would have been in its belly," she said.

"And Zecora managed to have a bag of sleeping powder already prepared back at her hut," Apple Bloom explained, bouncing up and down in excitement.

Ninja Star seethed his sword. "And the beast?"

"He should be in dream land for an hour or two, then when he awakens, back to his home he will shoo! I see the forget-me-not you all have found." Zecora then scanned her surroundings. "But where is Sky Wind? He is nowhere around."

* * *

Through the Everfree Forest soared Swoosh and Sky Wind. Swoosh remained in the lead, while Sky Wind lagged behind after him.

Swoosh flew fast enough to evade Sky Wind's advances, but barely enough that Sky Wind remained on his tail. Likewise, Sky Wind flew fast enough to follow close behind Swoosh, but barely enough to catch up after him.

Sky Wind beat his wings to the point where they ached and burned and felt like they were going to melt off, but despite this pain, he continued to fly after Swoosh. He flew after him like his life depended on it, and in a way, it did—because if Swoosh escaped with the forget-me-not flowers in his clutches, then Sky Wind would lose the very thing he needed to regain his lost memories, and he would forever be condemned to a life of amnesiac haze.

The two darted past the trees, each one narrowly evading them. Swoosh would fly head long toward a tree, and before crashing into it, would turn out of the way by a hair. His sharp maneuvers should have forced Sky Wind to crash into the trees, but Sky Wind proved to be just as quick and sharp.

After minutes of zig-zagging within the forest, Swoosh rose sharply through the treetops. Sky Wind followed after him. Like dolphins breaching the water surface, so too did these two breach the forest canopy, launching themselves through the green leaves of the treetops, only to splash down back into them.

Once again, Swoosh soared through the treetops and out of the forest. Once again Sky Wind followed. Once again, the two rose from and fell into the forest canopy.

Swoosh tried one last time. Sky Wind followed after him. As he passed through the green leaves of the trees, he was suddenly bombarded by a violent gust of wind.

Swoosh had anticipated his pursuer's actions. When he had escaped through the treetops, he turned a complete 180 towards Sky Wind and flapped his wings at him, creating the sudden gust, and forcing Sky Wind to tumble backwards.

Down Sky Wind fell through the tree tops. Down he fell through the branches. And down he fell onto the ground below, bouncing once before tumbling back several yards, kicking up dirt and grass in a skidded trail.

Sky Wind was not injured, but his body ached from the sudden impact. Fortunately, the forest floor was soft enough from moss and grass to cushion his fall.

He lifted his head, pounding from the impact, and slowly yet painfully lifted his aching, bruised body from the ground.

As his eyes opened and his eyesight focused, he could see through the rising dust Swoosh landing yards away from him, laughing as he landed.

"Youse seriously chased me all this way just so you can get your hooves on these here pitiful flower?" he asked, lifting his claw which clutched the wilted forget-me-nots.

He chuckled and cast the flowers at Sky Wind's feet. "Youse can have them if you wants it so badly, Sky Wind."

Sky Wind broke from his haze and realized that he was referred to by name. Not once did he ever mention his name to the tengu, who now laughed gloatingly at him.

"Wait, how did you know my—"was all Sky Wind could ask before Swoosh jumped into the air and began flying away.

Sky Wind dashed forward, but soon found himself limping from him fall, his legs and wings unable to move fast enough to chase after the tengu, let along fly after him.

"How did you know my name!" he yelled, standing as he watched Swoosh fly out of the forest and into the distance. "How did you know my name?!"

Sky Wind fell panting upon his knees.

Just then, Rainbow Dash flew up behind him. "There you are."

She then noticed the forget-me-nots lying on the ground. She gave a quick "Oh!" before bending to pick them up with her mouth.

"I see you managed to get the flowers back, but you lost that tengu." Dash shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well. We have what we need, so let's get back to Zecora's."

Sky Wind looked at Rainbow Dash, then into the distance where Swoosh had flown off to, and then back at Rainbow Dash. He was still perplexed at how the tengu knew his name, but soon shrugged it off. Both he and Dash finally got the forget-me-nots back, so that was that.

"Sure," he said as the two walked through the forest.

* * *

Zecora took the single forget-me-not flower and placed it in her pot. As she stirred it in, her pot's contents began to bubble.

"That single forget-me-not was all that was required, to brew the potion that will your memories acquire."

Her brew began to bubble rapidly and spew forth a pillar of purple fumes before simmering and changing its color to purple. That was when Zecora knew the potion was complete. She scooped out a ladleful of the potion and carried it over to Sky Wind, who, as before, was sitting on a stool, with Rainbow Dash and Apple Bloom standing next to him.

As the ladle was brought to his lips, Sky Wind took a big whiff of the steam rising from the potion. The foul stench it carried caused his nostrils to flare, almost as if fire was set to his nose hairs, and his stomach to churn in disgust.

The potion reeked with the unappetizing odor of gym socks that had been soaked in pond scum, boiled in spoiled milk, and left to rot in the sun for days on end. Sky Wind was forced to turn his nose and grit his teeth in disgust.

"If your memories you wish to regain, then this ladle you must drain," Zecora chided him, almost like a mother asking her toddler to open wide and eat his baby food.

Sky Wind gulped. He accepted the potion as it passed through his lips and into his mouth. Sky Wind could not imagine having consumed anything that tasted worse. Bitter cough medicine would have had a more pleasant taste. The potion burned like hot sauce as it made its way down his throat and into his stomach.

Having finished the last drop, Sky Wind let out a disgruntled "bleh!" before his mind completely blanked. His eyes glowed with a white light as his memories began to flash within his mind.

Sky Wind began recalling memories without intentionally trying to remember them. It was as if he was watching a television whose channels were being rapidly changed by someone else.

His most recent memories were brought to the forefront of his mind. Him and Rainbow Dash retrieving the last forget-me-not. His last confrontation with Swoosh. Swoosh referring to him by name. Sky Wind demanding to know how he knew it. Him chasing Swoosh through the Everfree Forest. Him and Rainbow Dash meeting Zecora. Xander being sent flying across Twilight's library.  
Further and further back his memories came to him. Him and Rainbow Dash staring into the sunset. The two of them stopping a tornado. Swoosh taunting them along with the Shadow Pegasi. Rainbow Dash and him racing. The two of them laughing in the hospital. The two of them crashing into the market stalls. Rainbow Dash flying alongside him as he plummeted to the ground.

Then, the dark mare with the red eyes appeared once again, hissing.

The shock forced him to fly backwards into his chair and fall upon his back.

Zecora and Rainbow Dash quickly rushed to his side and picked him back up.

Sky Wind rubbed his temples at his throbbing headache.

"Sky Wind?" Dash asked. "Did it worked?"

Sky Wind shook his head to snap himself out of his daze, only forcing his temples to throb harder with his recently-acquired headache. He groaned as he looked at Dash in disappointment.

"Nothing," was his only response. "I still can't remember anything."

"Maybe you just need to take another sip of that potion," Dash suggested.

"I'd rather eat Pinkie Pie's rotten muffins," Sky Wind replied, almost gagging at the thought of drinking the potion again.

Zecora shook her head.

"That single dose was the only one recommended, to have your amnesia ended," Zecora said. "Any more would be an overdose, and would only make matters worse."

Rainbow Dash flung her hoofs in the air. "Great. Just great. Twilight couldn't help. Xander couldn't help. And Zecora couldn't help. Nothing's going to bring back Sky Wind's memories."

"Time is what I feel, will allow Sky Wind to heal," Zecora replied.

Sky Wind smirked. "Yeah, what Zecora said: I'll get them back eventually."

His smile then drooped into a frown as he gazed down at the floor. "Though, to be perfectly honest, I don't know if I want to get them back."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Sky Wind looked at her. "It's only because I lost my memories that I met you and the others. Ever since losing them, I've been having so many adventures here in Ponyville. So…"

He gazed to the ground once more, still frowning.

"So what?" Dash asked.

Sky Wind returned his attention back to her. "So sometimes I wonder what will happen if I regain my lost memories? Will I end up losing my new memories? Will I forget about everything that I have done here in Ponyville? Will I forget about my new friends? Will I forget about…about you?"

Rainbow Dash thought for a second before giving a hearty laugh. "You? Forget me? C'mon! No pony can ever forget a great pony like yours truly."

She put her arm around his shoulder. "Besides, even if you were to forget about everything, I would still stick by your side to make sure that you remembered once again. After all, if you regain your old memories, surely you could regain your new ones to."

Sky Wind could not help but smile now that Dash assured him everything was okay. "I guess you're right. There's no way I could ever forget a pony like you. And there's one more thing I will never forget."

Dash raised her eyebrow once more. "And what's that?"

Sky Wind showed his teeth as he smiled. "How I'm totally going to beat you in our race later today."  
Dash stopped smiling. "Well there's no way you're going to forget that, because it ain't happening!"  
"Prove it!"

With those words, the two pegasi dashed out of the cottage, leaving behind a laughing Zecora and Apple Bloom.

* * *

Back at the library, Twilight and Xander were cleaning up the mess that was created earlier. Twilight levitated three books from the floor and placed them on the shelf one by one. Xander used his magic to lift an entire stack of books and place them on the top shelf perfectly.

"Xander," Twilight said, placing the last book on the shelf.

Xander turned to her upon placing all his books on the opposite shelf.

"I assume that you had the same difficulty as I did trying to retrieve Sky Wind's lost memories?"

Xander surveyed the remaining books and papers that littered the library floor. "If the current state of your library is any indicator, I seemed to have had a much more difficult time than you did."

"True. But when you were delving into Sky Wind's mind with your magic, did it ever feel like you reached a roadblock, almost like an impenetrable brick wall?"

"You mean something like an angry-looking mare with glowing demon eyes?" He asked.

"So we saw the same thing! But what do you think it means?"

"It means that Sky Wind didn't get amnesia by accident. His lost memories are being suppressed through a magic curse. Someone—or rater, something—doesn't want Sky Wind to remember who he was—or, perhaps, they don't want anyone else to know who he was."

"And I take it you have no clue why that could be?"

"Exactly, but whatever the reason, it's clear that we're dealing with some really dark forces here."

* * *

_**Twilight:** Hey, it's me, Twilight. Xander, are you any closer to finding the amulet?_

_**Xander:** As a matter of fact, I may very well be. Finally, after all of these years of searching, I could be close to obtaining the very artifact that my late father spent his whole life searching for._

_**Pinkie:** Woo! And we're all going to go on an adventure to find it!_

_**Xander:** Wait, what do you mean "we"?_

_**Twilight:** Next time on My Little Pony: "At Last, The Amulet Of Purity Located!" Xander, you didn't think we were going to let you go on a dangerous adventure on your own?_

_**Xander:** I don't need any pony's help. This is my life's mission, and my mission alone!_

* * *

**My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and characters © Hasbro and Lauren Faust**  
**Xander © Me**  
**Skywind © ex626AKAKeon**  
**Ninja Star © ninjaninjanoob23 **

**Voice Credits**

**Twilight Sparkle ...Tara Strong**  
**Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy...Andrea Libman**  
**Applejack, Rainbow Dash...Ashleigh Ball**  
**Rarity, Princess Luna...Tabitha St. Germain**  
**Princess Celestia...Nicole Oliver**  
**Spike...Cathy Weseluck**  
**Xander...Vic Mignogna**  
**Sky Wind...Antony Del Rio**  
**Ninja Star...Dave Wittenberg**  
**Squish...Samuel Vincent**  
**Swoosh...Derek Stephen Prince**  
**Slash...Roger Labon Jackson**  
**Shadow Mare...Susanne Blakeslee**  
**Dark Stallion...Ron Perlman**


	7. Episode 07

**_My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_**** presents**

_**The Dark Stallion**_

**Episode 07: At Last, The Amulet Of Purity Located!**

* * *

_Last time on My Little Pony:_

_Rainbow Dash tried to help Sky Wind get his lost memories back. They started by having both Twilight Sparkle and Xander use magic spells, but neither of them made any avail. The two pegasi then ventured into the Everfree Forest to obtain an ingredient for a magic potion. They managed to find it, but so did the Shadow Clan, along with a rampaging Hydra. Fortunately, Dash, with the help of Ninja Star and Fluttershy, tied the Hyrda up into knots, while Sky Wind tracked down the Shadow Clan for the missing ingredient they stole. However, even with the magic potion brewed, Sky Wind was still unable to get his memories back. Will he ever regain his lost memories, and what dark secrets do they hold?_

* * *

As Twilight carried a stack of books downstairs, she saw as Xander stood overlooking a table. Upon its tabletop was unfurled a map of Equestria with notes and open books scattered about it. Xander furrowed his eyebrows as he studied the faded markings on the map's aged brown paper.

"How goes the search?" Twilight set aside her books to approach him.

"I spent a good two years traveling across Equestria from library to library in search of literature about the Amulet of Purity, and after arriving at your library, I've only managed to find a scant trace of information pertaining to it." Xander turned his gaze to Twilight. "Nevertheless, what little information I've found has brought me one step closer."

When he turned to look at the map, he gasped. Staring back at him was a pink face—Pinkie Pie!

"One step closer to what?" she asked.

Xander clasped his chest for a split second before furrowing his brow at the pink pony standing on the table and his map.

"Where the hay did you come from?" he yelled, not sure whether to be annoyed or confused.

"Through the door, silly," Pinkie nonchalantly pointed to the open library door, "though sometimes I sneak in through the window."

She looked down at the map upon which she was standing. "Ooh, what are you playing here? Looks like Risk. That's a really fun board game. No, actually it's kind of boring. Not at all fun like Candyland or Monopoly or Chutes and Ladders or…"

"It's not a board game," Xander interrupted her. "It's a map of Equestria, an old map that was owned by my late father, who would hardly appreciate ponies standing on top of it with their dirty hooves."

Pinkie lifted one hoof to inspect it. "Good thing I just washed mine."

"Could you get off?!" Xander barked.

Pinkie shirked back and quietly stepped off of the table.

"Sorry!" She began studying the map. "So whatcha looking for, anyway?"

"Xander here is looking for a rare artifact called the Amulet of Purity," Twilight answered. "His father dedicated his entire life looking for it, and now, Xander has spent the past few years trying to search for it himself. He was just telling me about some important information he found while doing so."

Xander nodded. "I still don't know what the Amulet is or what it's capable of, but I may have found something that can tell me how to find it. The thing is, it's only a poem, and a rather cryptic one at that."

From the table he lifted a piece of parchment and brought it before him and Twilight. Upon first glance, Twilight could not make heads or tails of what was on it, as it was written in the runes of an ancient language that was foreign to her.

Fortunately, Xander translated it for her: "Unicorn magic, Pegasus flight, the sweat from the brow of the earth pony's plight. When all three come together in unity, then is revealed the Amulet of Purity."

Pinkie scratched her chin as she thought for a second or two. "Not bad, but I know a better poem: there once was a colt from Nantucket…"

"Pinkie, please!" Twilight interrupted, equally annoyed at the pink pony.

She then turned her attention back to Xander. "What do you think it means?"

Xander held his chin as he delved deep into thought. "I'm not sure myself. My father spent years simply deciphering this dead language, who knows how long it will take me to decipher this poem. It could lead us anywhere. Where exactly, I don't know."

"Maybe it's here?" Pinkie asked.

Xander turned to face Pinkie. He gasped when he saw how she had scribbled red ink on his map with a red marker that she held in her mouth.

"My father's map!" he yelled, yanking the marker away from Pinkie with his magic. "Just what do you think you are doing?"

Pinkie shrugged her shoulders. "Your poem reminded me about the three major cities in Equestria."

She pointed to one city that she had circled in red ink. "There's the capital city of Canterlot, where all the unicorns live. Then there's Cloudsdale, where the pegasi live. And finally, there's Ponyville, where all the earth ponies live."

Each of the three cities were circled in red ink, with each circle connected to one another with lines that formed a giant triangle.

"When you connect all the cities together like this, you get a triangle," Pinkie explained. "So maybe your amulet thingy is located somewhere in here."

Twilight scratched her chin. "You know, Pinkie, I think you might be onto something."

"Or at least she would be," Xander shook his head, "if it wasn't for the fact that these cities only existed within the past century. None of them existed when Equestria was founded, let alone when the Amulet existed."

"So what cities did exist back then?" Pinkie asked.

"Well, when each of the three pony tribes emigrated to Equestria, each of them constructed their own settlement. The unicorns built the kingdom of Unicornia; the pegasi, the city of Pegalopolis, and the earth ponies, the hamlet of Earthenshire."

As Xander named each of these ancient cities, he circled their locations on the map, then connected them all with another triangle, which overlapped the previous one, and with it, formed a star.

Upon its completion, the red star glowed with such intensity that it forced Xander and the others to shield their eyes. The red glow lasted for a good five seconds before fading away.

When the three ponies returned their gaze upon the map, they saw, where the star's center once shone, the freshly-drawn sketch of a mountain range with a stone tower rising from the nook of two mountains.

From the drawing rose small wisps of steam, almost as if it were etched into the parchment with a fiery quill—clearly the product of magic. Underneath the mountain range and tower was written the words—

"Union Tower," Twilight whispered. "That must be where the Amulet of Purity is located.

Xander gazed intently at the new location which the map had revealed. "Finally, after the many years of my father researching the Amulet of Purity, I've finally come this close to obtaining it."

"So when do we leave to find it?" Pinkie asked.

Xander returned his gaze to Pinkie, gasping when he realized four extra head surrounding the table and looking over the map: the remainder of the Mane Six.

"Where did you all come from?" Xander exclaimed, shocked at their sudden appearance.

Pinkie bounced in place with glee. "I brought them here to show them your new discovery."

"That quick?" Xander asked.

Twilight leaned next to him, replying, "It's Pinkie Pie. She can do anything. Don't question it."

Rainbow Dash hovered over the table as she studied the map. "This Union Tower appears to be located in the Carponian Mountains, which is only a three hour flight north of here. We can easily fly there in no time flat."

Applejack raised an eyebrow, "Uh, you do realize that most of us are sort of earthbound, what with us not having any wings."

Dash rolled her eyes as she scratched her head. "Oh, yeah, forgot that minor detail."

Applejack placed her hoof on the map where the mountains and tower were drawn. "Seems to me that this here tower will take at least half a day's trek. Fortunately, most of us here have the horsepower to make the journey."

"And if you need any additional horsepower," Dash added. "I'm sure Sky Wind and Ninja Star can lend their hooves for this."

Fluttershy stepped forward, "Oh, Ninja Star-kun would most definitely be a big help with his ninja skills, some of which he taught me, though I'm not sure how well I can do on my own."

Rarity beamed in excitement, "Oh, but I do love the prospect of searching for an ancient amulet. I'm sure it's quite an exquisite piece of jewelry, if its legend is anything to go by. Though I do wonder what I should wear for our journey. I do have the quaintest little camping outfit for such an occasion."

Twilight nodded, "Then it's settled: we leave first thing tomorrow morning."

The six ponies pumped their hooves in the air and cheered in excitement.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Xander asked, his tone breaking their moment. "I'm the one who's going to be searching for this—by myself."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You're not seriously suggesting going on your own?"

"Why not?" Xander asked. "I spent most of my time searching for this amulet alone, why would it be any different from here on out?"

"Because you'll be traveling to an ancient ruin where no other pony had tread, not some library in Equestria," was Twilight's response. "It's far too dangerous for one pony to go at this alone. You're going to need the help of far more ponies than one."

Xander turned his back on the six. "I never asked for any pony's help, and I most certainly never asked for yours."

"Well asked for it or not, you're still going to need our help. This is a team effort. We're going to go with you tomorrow, and there's nothing else you can say on the matter."

Xander glanced at the ground, then back up as he walked away from them. "So be it."

* * *

Spike had woken up in the middle of the night to use the little dragon's room when he passed by the window. There he noticed a faint light coming from outside. He pressed his face against the glass as he peered into the blackness of night, being pierced by a light as faint as a firefly's. Upon squinting his eyes, he recognized the light as that of a glow of a unicorn's horn, and upon squinting harder, he recognized the unicorn as—

"Xander!" he exclaimed.

The colt was walking past the library with his satchel, fuller than usual, hanging from his side and with a map floating in front of his face with his magic. As Xander strode through town and towards the horizon in the distance, Spike turned on his tail and called for Twilight.

* * *

Along a narrow mountain trail trekked Xander. All night he had been traveling from Ponyville, and by break of dawn, he had reached the base of the mountains, and by noon, he was now clambering towards their summit by the narrow trail winding along them.

Xander could hardly tell it was approaching noon, as the sky was gray with clouds that concealed the sun from view. From these clouds came barreling cold harsh winds that berated Xander as he traversed the mountain trail, which was far too narrow for him to travel on all four limbs, forcing his back and two forelimbs against the mountainside with his hind hooves on the trail's narrow edge.

Slowly he inched his way along the trail, with every other step sending loose rocks tumbling into the abyss below, which he could barely see as the winds forced him to squint his eyes. Losing his balance would spell certain death for him, as he would fall hundreds of feet below, possibly to jagged rocks that would skewer him.

If he were a pegaus, he could fly above the mountains to his destination, though the harsh mountain winds would hardly make his flight easily. Being the skilled unicorn he was, he could have easily used his levitation spell to fly himself there regardless, but the magic exerted would drain him of most of his energy, and he wished to conserve as much of it for when he reached the tower.

And so, with no other alternative, he sidled against the mountainside, along the trail that could barely support him. Nearly an hour passed until the path became wide enough for him to walk upon all four hooves, though barely. A few more minutes, and the path became wide enough to trot along at a much faster pace.

Very soon, the path came to an end. Xander stood at a clearing near the summit, a clearing which appeared to be where a cavern opening would be, but oddly enough, there was nothing there.

Xander stood before the mountain wall with nothing else around him other than a few oddly placed boulders.

He checked his map. He was standing in the precise location where there should have been an entrance to a tunnel that would lead him to where the tower was, but when he lowered his map, which barely remained in his hand with the howling wind against him, he saw nothing.

Just then, he noticed near his forehooves a stone buried within the mountain's gravel and dust, a stone that appeared to be of a different material than the other rocks along the mountain. With his hoof, he dusted it off and revealed a rune inscribed upon it.

With a satisfied smirk upon his face, he took two paces back. His horn glowed with a dark blue light, and before him, the mountainside wavered like a curtain in the breeze, dissipating to reveal a cavern entrance. It had been concealed with a magical cloaking spell which Xander now promptly dispelled.

Before him stood an entrance to a tunnel with a white light shining at the end of it. Into the tunnel he ran, the light at the end of it growing brighter and brighter until it enveloped him.

His eyes quickly adjusted to the light by the time he reached the tunnel's end. Before him was a gorge that extended for a good mile with more mountains on the other side. A few feet before him was a stone bridge that spanned the length of this ravine and extended to a stone tower whose height rivaled that of the mountain peaks.

This was the Union Tower he had been looking for.

The bridge was long enough to reach the tower on the other side of the gorge and wide enough for at least four horses to comfortably walk side-by-side. At its start, from where Xander stood, was a gateway with two statues on either side—one statue of an earth pony, the other, a unicorn. Above and between the two was a pegasus whose wings spanned the width of the bridge and touched the heads of either pony statue.

Excited, Xander raced forward through the gateway. Unbeknownst to him, the eyes of all three statues glowed red upon his passing. He soon stopped dead in his tracks as the bridge began to quiver as though it was an earthquake.

Just then, Xander noticed one of the pillars crumbling at its base, causing it to topple over and fall towards him. Before it could crush him with its weight, Xander used his magic to stop it in its place.

However, as he was doing this, he failed to notice the pillar on the other side likewise falling over. As soon as he noticed, he was already preoccupied holding up the other pillar for him to react. He closed his eyes, waiting for his inevitable death.

When his death did not arrive, he opened his eyes. Before him flew two pegasi struggling under the weight of the pillar. One pegasus had a rainbow-colored mane; the other, black with a purple coat.

Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind pushed against the pillar until it once again stood upright. When it was put back in place, it glowed with a purple aura, causing the broken pillar to become whole once more.

Recognizing the purple magic, Xander turned around to expectedly find Twilight Sparkle, along with the rest of her friends, standing behind him.

"What are you all doing here?" he asked.

Rainbow Dash flew up alongside her friends and glared at Xander with her hooves against her hips. "You know, the proper response is 'Thank you for saving my life.'"

Xander cocked an eyebrow. "And how did you all manage to get here?"

Twilight stepped forward. "Spike informed me of your late night excursion. I managed to gather every pony else just in time to track down your trail and follow you."

"Well, it looks like it was time wasted," Xander said. "I told you before that I don't need your help. I can handle this on my own."

"Like Tartarus, you can!" Twilight pointed to the pillar that nearly feel onto Xander. "If we hadn't reached you in time, you would have ended up flater than a pony pancake."

"With strawberry syrup!" chimed Pinkie Pie.

Xander looked at the pillar, then back at the others. "That was one misstep. I can handle things from here on out."

"And what if you run into another misstep in the tower?" Twilight asked. "Xander, you graduated Gringhorn's Academy with honors. You're smarter than this. You can't do this on your own."

Xander turned from them. "It doesn't matter. This is what my father has been searching for his whole life. It's my duty to fulfill his legacy and retrieve that amulet. It's my duty and mine alone. I cannot ask any pony to bear it."

There was a silent tension that hung in the air between him and the other ponies, a tension that broke when Applejack stepped forward, her hat removed in humility.

"Listen here, Sugarcube," she began with her voice lowered in a somber volume as she would use to address a forlorn Apple Bloom, "Y'all don't have to put on this macho stallion act. You may pretend that you don't need any other pony's help, that you're a lone pony against the world, but you're not. You're not alone. You may not consider us as such, but with the time you've spent in Ponyville with Twilight, you've become one of our friends, and friends like us stick together tighter than molasses on a tin pan in winter. Friends like us are more than willing to offer a helping hoof if y'all just ask for it. I should know. That's a lesson I had to learn myself."

She placed a hoof upon his shoulder. "Now I reckon that with us having followed you all the way here and having saved yer hide there, the least you can do is accept the help we're offering you."

Xander stared at the ground as he thought for a good minute. "If you insist."

He took a few steps forward before turning to look back at the others. "Just don't try to get in my way."

Xander lead the way as the other ponies followed.

Applejack paced back to walk alongside Twilight and lean toward her ear. "That there Xander can be more stubborn than a mule with his hide stuck in a tar puddle."

"I wouldn't hold it against him," Twilight shook her head. "I was once that stubborn."

Dash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but you weren't quite that rude."

The nine ponies traveled across the bridge. When they arrived at the end, they stood at the base of the tower and before an archway that appeared to be the entrance. There stood a tall stone slab that appeared to be the door, though how it would open perplexed the ponies.

"Um," Fluttershy asked, "do you suppose they would let us in if we knocked?"

Rainbow Dash snickered. "Why bother going inside when we can easily fly to the top?"

Upon finishing her sentence, she leapt into the air and flapped her wings, launching herself upward into the air and flying towards the top of the tower.

"I'll be up there and back down with the amulet in ten seconds—"

Before she could finish, she felt a sudden draft blast against her, preventing her from ascending any further, and causing her to fall backwards to the ground, collapsing facedown.

She stood up from her sudden impact and shook the dust off her.

"What the hay was that?" she cocked her head to gaze up at the tower.

Twilight shielded her eyes as she looked up. "The tower must be protected by enchantment. It's obviously housing a very important artifact at the top. If any pony dares to take it, they'll have to start all the way down at the very bottom. That means no flying."

Applejack took a step forward towards the stone slab and gave a gentle shove. "And how d'ya reckon we get inside? This here door would take at least a dozen Big Macs to force open."

Twilight pointed at the symbols displayed upon the slab. "Perhaps these provide a clue."

Engraved in the stone slab were three circles grouped together into a triangle, and within each circle were the figures of a horse. Each one represented a different pony race: unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony. Underneath each figure was a line of text written in the runes of an ancient language, one that seemed familiar to Xander.

"Those lines," he said. Using his magic, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumbled piece of paper. Opening it revealed the same ancient text he had shown Twilight in the library.

"They're the lines to the poem." He pointed to each pony figure and read aloud the text underneath them: "Unicorn magic, Pegasus flight, the sweat from the brow of the earth pony plight."

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat," Pinkie chimed in. "How I wonder where you at?"

"Pinkie!" the others chided her.

"That's a lovely poem and all, darling," Rarity said, "but whatever does it mean?"

"It was the poem that showed us the way to get here," Xander replied. "So perhaps it will show us the way to get inside. But how?"

He held his front hoof to his chin as he pondered. Staring at the ponies around him caused an idea to spark in his head.

"Unicorn magic," he recited as his horn began to glow.

Using his magic, he plucked a feather from Dash's wing, forcing her to yelp in pain and glare at him in annoyance.

"Pegasus flight."

He levitated the feather over to Applejack and brushed her forehead with it, sopping up a few drops of sweat.

"The sweat from the brow of the earth pony's plight."

He brought the feather before him, "When all these three come together in unity," and pressed it against the door.

Upon contact with the glowing, sweaty feather, the slab began to glow with the same color as Xander's magic, with the three figures glowing the brightest. Upon their illumination, the figures began to circle each other in a loop, causing the sound of creaking to erupt from within, almost as if the tumblers of a lock were being moved. With a loud click, the three figures stopped, and the door vanished in a flash of blue light.

The nine now stood before an open entrance into the tower.

Twilight gazed at Xander in amazement. "How did you figure out—"

"As I said," Xander cut her off. "The poem led us here, and the poem would lead us inside."

Pinkie Pie leapt in-between the two and bounced in place several times. "Makes sense to me."

With that, the ponies entered the tower. As they did so, they were watched from across the bridge and within the shadows, where three pairs of glowing red eyes watched them proceed.

* * *

The nine ponies entered a room completely enveloped in darkness. The only other light present, aside from the outside light pouring in through the doorway through which they had entered, was that of the torches lining the wall. These torches had become lit once the ponies entered. As to how these torches could light up on their own, the ponies simply ascribed it to the magic of the tower, the same magic that created the draft which prevented Rainbow Dash from flying to the top.

The torches illuminated a single stone path leading from the entrance to the other side of the room, where stood a dias raised three steps above the floor. Otherwise, the entire room was too dark to see anything else within it. When the ponies looked up, they could barely see the ceiling—in fact, it almost appeared as if there wasn't a ceiling at all.

When the nine traversed the length of the path and reached the raised platform, they noticed another stone slab embedded into the wall behind it. Upon this slab was engraved another set of three circles. Within each circle was engraved a different symbol: one of a flame, one of a snowflake, and one of a rain drop.

Underneath the stone markings was another line of text written in the same ancient language. However, this text appeared to be much different than the text from before—or at least these seemed to be the case for Xander and Twilight. For everyone else, it appeared to be the same indiscernible gibberish.

When all nine ponies had mounted the platform and approached the slab, Xander translated the ancient text.

"To ascend to the height of the tower's spire,  
Three trials must you pass: ice, water, and fire.  
The amulet awaits to be claimed as the prize  
Of he who the elements harmonize."

Upon reading aloud the last word, the engravings within the slab began to glow. A loud thud erupted through the room, emanating from the platform upon which the ponies stood, startling them. The ground underneath their feet then began to reverberate like an earthquake.

The entire platform upon which they stood felt as though it were moving upward like an elevator, and from the looks of their surroundings, it appeared as though this were the case. For the light of the torches appeared as though they were sinking into the floor below, though it seemed more likely that the platform they were on was ascending upward.

As the torches disappeared below them, another line of torches appeared above them and began to descend towards them. When the light of the torches became parallel to the platform, the platform ceased, and another loud thud reverberated throughout the room.

As soon as the ponies could blink, the darkness around them vanished, and in its place appeared boiling lava. From their platform stretched a vast pit of magma, almost as if they were standing within an active volcano, though it appeared more like they were in a cavern.

The sudden change of climate flustered the ponies. The heat caused beads of sweat to form upon their foreheads. They coughed as the volcanic fumes overcame them, and squinted as they peered out across the red molten sea. They could hardly see in front of them, as the air wavered with the rising steam.

To say that the ponies were shocked and confused would have been an understatement.

"What in the hay just happened?" exclaimed Applejack. "What happened to the tower?"

Twilight studied the surroundings. "I think we're still in it."

"Then how do you explain all of this here lava?" Applejack replied.

"It must be part of the trials." Twilight turned to the slab and looked over the three symbols. The topmost one that was currently glowing was the symbol of fire. "The text said that we would have to overcome three trials to ascend the tower."

Xander gazed over the lava. "And it appears that our first is trial by fire."

Twilight took a few steps over to where Xander stood. "So what exactly do you think this trial entails?"

Xander pointed across the magma sea. "To get to the other side."

The ponies once again squinted to peer across their fiery obstacle. Once again they could barely see in front of them, as the air wavered with the rising steam. What they were able to see through the fumes and steam was a platform similar to theirs on the other side of the pit, which now appeared to be the same length as the room they were previously in.

Dash flaunted her wings. "No sweat. Sky Wind and I can fly over there easy, lava or no lava."

Rarity approached her and cocked an eyebrow. "And how do you suppose the rest of us get over there? Hmm?"

Dash blushed from embarrassment. "Oh, well, I guess I overlooked that detail."

Twilight then approached. "Xander and I could use our teleportation spells, but that would still leave the rest of you over here."

"Too bad there isn't a bridge," Rarity said.

"Or perhaps a boat," Xander replied.

The unicorn was staring at the ceiling above where he noticed a large stalactite dangling above the magma before them. The rock formation itself was larger at the bottom than it was at the top.

"Ninja Star," he asked the ninja pony. "Do you see that large stalactite? I think it can be easily broken. Try throwing one of your kunai knives at it."

Without replying, Ninja Star seized a kunai from his satchel, and in a single motion, flung it at the stalactite above. Upon striking it, the knife caused the rock to tremble momentarily before splitting from the ceiling and plummeting into the magma sea below.

As the rock plunged into the lava, Xander leapt forward and onto it, and with his horn glowing blue, used his magic to keep it afloat. The other ponies were now able to see that the rock was smooth on top like a tabletop and appeared wide enough to hold all of them.

"This rock should be able to carry us all, and my magic should be able to keep it afloat," Xander informed the others. "The only thing we need now is something to propel us across, and for that, we may need some—"

"Peg-assistance?" Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow. "You got it! Me and Sky Wind here will use our wings to get you all across in ten seconds flat—give or take!"

With that, the two pegasi flew onto the floating rock and turned to face the others.

Pinkie Pie followed suit and bounced gleefully onto it.

"All aboard the lav-a boat!" she chimed in a sing-songy voice. "It promises something for everyone!"

The other ponies were wary to step onto the rock, not only because they feared it would not hold them, but also that it would easily allow them to slip off into the lava; but as they saw Twilight fearlessly step onto it, they eventually received the nerve to follow her lead.

Once everyone was onboard, Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind pushed against the platform to send the rock floating, bobbing away into the magma sea, and beating their wings, created a gust that propelled it even further away.

All nine ponies were soon straddling the rock, making sure to stay far away from the edge, as it sailed across the fiery sea. Their rock wobbled in the waves of lava almost like a regular boat wobbling in the water, except it wasn't only the motion causing their stomachs to turn sour. The heat was even more intense now that they were floating above the lava, causing them to sweat more profusely and breathe heavily.

"Phew-ee!" Applejack exclaimed, wiping the sweat from her brow. "The heat is causing me to sweat harder than harvest day on the farm. It's hot enough in here to roast an apple."

"Or a marshmallow," Pinkie Pie added.

Sure enough, the pink pony was sitting on the edge of the rock holding a stick with a flaming marshmallow on the end.

Applejack nearly gave a double take. "Pinkie Pie, I swear to Celestia, in a time like this, are you seriously cooking s'mores?"

"Of course not," Pinkie replied. "I don't have any graham crackers or chocolate bars."

Five long minutes the ponies spent journeying across the magma sea. To them, it felt as though they could not survive another five minutes more in the heat, which they were sure would cook them if they continued on for much longer.

Thankfully, with a huge bump, their rock boat reached the other platform across the pit. In a single file they leapt off of the rock. The last one to depart was Xander, who, releasing his magic, sent the rock sinking until it was completely subdued by the magma.

Rarity wiped her brow, disappointed that her sweating had caused her hair to frill up. "Oh, I do declare I will need a perm after this endeavor.

With that, the platform underneath them reverberated once more, and a loud thud rang out from beneath them. Once again, the three symbols on the slab began to glow and revolve around one another.

As this happened, the platform began to rise from out of the lava and ascend upward into total darkness until nothing could be seen but further darkness below. A few seconds passed and another line of torches appeared from above and descended until they were aligned with the platform.

Another loud thud erupted. The platform stopped moving, and the symbols ceased circling one another—this time, with the snowflake symbol on top.

Within a blink of an eye, the nine ponies saw a bridge of ice stretch from their platform across the pit to the platform on the other side. The ice bridge provided a single narrow path, barely wide enough to fit a single pony, and with no guardrails, nothing to prevent them from falling off.

Below the bridge was an abyss of pure darkness, one that appeared to go on forever with no bottom in sight; above it were ice stalactites hanging from a ceiling of ice, which stretched in all directions into the walls of the icy cavern in which the nine now found themselves.

Having previously been sweltering and sweating from the rising heat of magma, the ponies now found themselves shivering from the sudden drop in temperature. The sweat that covered their body now exasperated their imminent hypothermia, causing goose bumps to form more profusely.

"Well, at least we have a bridge this time," Rarity said. "But now I'm only wishing I had packed my scarf."

"I don't think this bridge is going to help us any," Twilight replied. "It appears far too narrow, and there's nothing preventing any pony from falling off."

Ninja Star reached into his satchel once more. "Perhaps I can be of assistance there."

From his satchel he drew another kunai knife, one with a rope attached to it. He twirled it above his head like Applejack would a lasso, and in a split second, flung it toward the wall behind them. The knife drove deep enough into the wall that, when Ninja Star pulled on the rope, it became taunt.

Ninja Star took hold of the other end of the rope, to which was also attached a kunai. Once more, he twirled the kunai above his head several times before releasing it, causing it to fling across the pit and into the wall on the other side.

The rope stretched from one end of the pit to the next parallel to the ice bridge at shoulder height, providing a makeshift guardrail.

"This rope will allow for something to hold onto and keep your balance," Ninja Star informed them as he bravely stepped onto the ice bridge while grasping onto the rope. "Even so, be sure to watch your footing and make your way across at a leisurely pace."

Fluttershy followed behind him. "Oh my, Ninja Star-kun, you are awfully resourceful."

The other ponies followed one by one in single file onto and across the ice bridge. Even with the rope providing support, they carefully inched their way across, one hoof in front of the other. They dare not move any faster in fear they would slip.

"I do declare," Applejack commented. "I'd hate to fall off of here. You can't might well see the bottom, though I'd reckon you'd be falling into that there lava pit."

"Now that you mention it," Dash replied. "How has this ice not melted yet if it's sitting directly above a sea of lava?"

"It's not," Twilight replied. "I can't really explain it, but each of these rooms are their own separate entity. If we were to fall, we wouldn't be falling into the lava, but Celestia knows what we would be falling into. You could very well end up falling forever. It's all due to the magic of the tower."

Another five minutes passed until all of the ponies made it across the ice bridge. Once the last one had leapt onto the platform on the other side, Ninja Star took a violent yank onto the rope, causing the kunai on the other side to dislodge, and allowing him to wrap up the rope and return it to his satchel.

Once again, their platform reverberated and began its ascent once more, causing the ice bridge to disappear into complete darkness beneath them, and causing another line of touches to descend from above toward them.

Once again, the three symbols revolved around one another in a complete circle, stopping once the platform had stopped and the torches became parallel with it. This time, the glowing symbol at the top was that of the rain drop.

In yet another blink of an eye, the darkness subsided to reveal that the ponies were now within a vast vacant chamber. Its floor, walls, and ceiling were covered entirely in stone tiles, and around its perimeter, sticking out of the walls, were stone statues of sea ponies—the pony version of mermaids with the head and torso of a horse and tail of a pony. The sea ponies stood silently against the wall of the room with their eyes shut, almost as if they were sleeping.

Aside from these sea pony statues and the two platforms on either side of the room, there was nothing else within this chamber save for the ponies themselves. There appeared to be no obstacles within. No lava. No ice. Nothing.

Rarity surveyed the room from where she and the others stood. "There doesn't seem to be anything here."

She did not have to speak loudly for her voice to echo throughout the chamber, her voice bouncing off the tiled surroundings.

Dash leapt into the air. "Well, then, all the easier for us to cross."

She was about to dart forward when Twilight, with her magic, grabbed her by the tail. "Dash, wait, there's still one trial left."

Having fallen to the ground upon being halted, Dash gazed at Twilight with annoyance shown in her face. "But there's nothing here. What other trial could there be?"

Twilight held her chin as she focused on the floor in contemplation. "Well, the first trial was by fire, and the second trial was by ice, so that makes this trial—"

"Trial by water," Xander pointed to the symbols on the wall and how the raindrop symbol was at the top.

His words, though soft spoken, echoed especially loudly throughout the chamber, causing it to reverberate with slight tremors, almost as if an earthquake was starting.

As the words echoed louder and the trembling intensified, the eyes of the sea pony statues began to slowly open, their stone eyelids revealing sapphire eyes glowing with blue light. Once every sea pony's eyes were wide open, their mouths began to open likewise. And once every sea pony's mouths were wide open, from out of them poured water at an intense rate, almost like faucets loosened to their highest setting.

The entire room began to fill will water, which, being released at such a high rate, violently tossed and turned with waves almost like a tempest-tossed sea. One wave crashed upon the platform that the ponies were standing on, washing them off and into the drink to be tossed about by the waves.

To say that the nine ponies were panicking would be an understatement at this point. Finding themselves suddenly swept up into the water, swimming in high-rising tides and braving storm-strong waves was too much for them to handle. They soon found themselves flailing about in the water, being carried about by the current like a stick within a stormy sea. They coughed and sputtered as water filled their mouths gasping for breath as they struggled to keep their heads above the water.

So violently were they tossed about within the waves that they were unable to speak to one another, instead being forced to gasp for breath. The only exception was Pinkie Pie, who, unlike the others, was not flailing about in the water, but instead, was floating about within a wooden tub with a makeshift sail while she wore a paper sailor's hat.

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream," she sang gleefully to herself until her vessel inevitably capsized, tossing her into the water with the rest of the ponies.

More and more the chamber filled with water, which frightened the ponies even more as they realized they were running out of air. Frantically they flailed within the water, fighting wave and foam to keep their heads above water level. Soon their heads were bobbing against the ceiling as the water reached ceiling height.

Within a few seconds, the entire chamber was filled completely in water, and the nine terrified ponies found themselves completely submerged. They flailed about within the water even greater as what little air that remained in their lungs quickly became depleted, with air bubbles rising from their lips. All hope seemed lost as each pony succumbed to their inevitable fate, their bodies ceasing to flail, and their eyes closing shut. Each found themselves floating limp within the watery depths.

All but one.

Xander, who had fallen limp and lifeless like the rest of his reluctant companions, opened his eyes wide as they and his horn glowed with blue magic. Around him water began to swirl as a whirlpool.

With his last remaining breath, he plunged deep within the depths of the submerged chamber, the water spiraling around him, making his descent akin to a drill penetrating wood. His hoofs soon touched the floor at the bottom, and as soon as all four of his hooves touched, the floor under him began to glow bright blue with a magic circle forming around him, which exploded into a burst of blue light.

When the light faded, it revealed a metal grate which had formed underneath Xander. Quickly the grate began to drain the room of the water, causing it to circle in a giant whirlpool like water circling a drain. The remaining ponies circled about the whirlpool, still as lifeless as they previously were. Faster and faster the water descended as it poured through the metal grate until eventually the last drop of water had been drained.

Xander remained standing in place as the other ponies flailed about the wet floor like fish out of water. They began to cough and sputter the water out of their lungs and rise to their feet, each pony drenched soaking wet.

Pinkie Pie shook herself like a wet dog, revealing her fur to be just as fluffy, and her hair even fluffier than usual.

Applejack patted one ear to shake water out of the other. "Well, it looks like I won't need to take a bath for a long time, not that I take many to begin with."

As soon as Twilight shook her mane out of her eyes, her horn began to glow purple and surround each pony with purple magic, causing their fur to dry off.

"Good things Xander here knew alchemy to transmute a drain into the floor, otherwise, we would all be swimming with the fishes," she said. "And good thing I know a drying spell, otherwise, we would all be sopping wet."

When the last pony stood to their feet, a light shone down from above and upon one of the platforms. From the platform appeared a spiral staircase that rose from the floor all the way to the ceiling where an opening had formed.

"Looks like we finally have an exit," Dash said, flying off into the direction of the new staircase, where the other ponies began to walk towards, with each of them ascending it to the top.

* * *

When the nine ponies had scaled to the top of the staircase, they reached an opening that lead outside. Passing through, they stepped out onto the tower's battlement, the very top of the tower, where they found—nothing.

From where they stood, they could see a panoramic view of the mountains and surrounding landscape that stretched out either way towards the horizon, as far as the eye could see. Other than the view, there was nothing else to find other than the stone floor of the battlement and the stone guardrail encircling it.

The ponies stood silent in amazement of the surrounding view, but mostly of the realization that there was nothing else to see.

Rainbow Dash scratched her head. "I don't get it. Where's that amulet thing supposed to be? There doesn't seem to be anything here."

"Figures," Xander said. "My father spent most of his life searching for that amulet, and once I've found a clue to its location, it appears to be just as missing as it was before."

Twilight grunted. "I don't believe this. We climbed all the way up to the top of this tower, and after crossin over boiling lava, narrowly slipping into an icy abyss, and nearly drowning to death, we came all this way only to find nothing?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that we found nothing," Pinkie interjected, not as glum as her other disappointed companions, "We have this breathtaking view. I bet I can even see my house from here."

Pinkie dashed forward across the battlement on her way towards the edge. In a single step, she found herself surrounded by a ring of pink light, which caught her by surprise and caused her to stop in wonderment.

"Ooh, pretty!" she said, surveying the pink light she was standing in.

Upon closer inspection, the circle she was standing in contained a glowing set of pink balloons, the same symbol as her cutie mark, and the same symbol as her Element of Laughter.

The other ponies began to notice that there were five other circles surrounding the perimeter and inscribed in the battlement's floor. Inscribed within each circle was a symbol, symbols which Twilight and the other mares recognized as—

"The Elements of Harmony," Twilight said, surveying the ancient markings on the battlement floor. "Each of these circles contain an Element of Harmony, and the one Pinkie Pie is standing in right now is the Element of Laughter. That's why it began to glow when she stood within it."

Twilight paced toward another circle. "This one contains the Element of Magic, my element. I wonder if it will react to me."

Upon stepping inside it, the circle and the symbol within it began to glow with a purple light.

"My hypothesis proves accurate," Twilight exclaimed. "These magic circles react to the element inscribed within them. If each of us stand within it, something is bound to happen."

The other mares walked over to the circle with their corresponding element: Rarity and her Element of Generosity, Applejack and her Element of Honesty, Rainbow Dash and her Element of Loyalty, and Fluttershy and her Element of Kindness.

When each pony stepped inside their circle, both the circle and the symbol within began to glow with a magic whose color corresponded with the element: white for generosity, orange for honesty, blue for loyalty, and yellow for kindness.

The three stallions stood on the sidelines watching the spectacle play out before them. As the lights intensified with each circle and symbol, the stallions were forced to shield their eyes from the blinding light.

"The amulet awaits to be claimed as the prize," Xander whispered. "Of he who the elements harmonize."

With the last mare to step within their corresponding circle, the magical lights revealed that the six circles were all part of a larger magical circle inscribed upon the battlement floor, with one last circle within its center.

As all the circles and symbols glowed, the circle within the center began to glow with a pillar of pure white light that stretched into the sky above. The intensity of this light blinded the other nine ponies and forced them to cover their eyes.

The blinding white light soon faded, and in its place, rising from the center circle, was a medallion with a metal chain. The medallion rose from the stone floor and floated in midair.

Xander's eyes widened as he saw this. He approached the medallion and took it within his grasp. He studied it carefully. It was a crystal clear gem that shone with the radiance of a prism, shining fragments of rainbow upon the ground. It was encapsulated within a silver frame and hung by an equally silver chain.

He had only heard about this very object in legends told by his father, as it was the very item his father had been searching for, and the search for which he himself had continued.

Within his hooves he held the Amulet of Purity.

"My father spent his entire life looking for this, and now, finally, after following in his footsteps, I have it within my own grasp," he said. "At last have I found the Amulet of Purity."

"Don't you mean we?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Xander cocked an eyebrow.

"Pinkie has a point," Twilight said. "You and your father may have been searching for that, but if it wasn't for our help, you wouldn't be holding that right now. You needed the help from us all to scale this tower and overcome the obstacles, and you definitely needed the aid of our elements to uncover that Amulet. You may not want to admit it, but you needed our help all along."

Xander nodded his head and hummed to himself. "Fair enough. Looks like I did need your help after all. Sorry I tried to run off without you."

He gazed back at the ponies. "But this Amulet belongs to me."

As Xander was talking and holding the amulet aloft within his hooves, he was slowly approached by Sky Wind. The pegasus felt drawn to the medallion like a moth to a flame. The closer he inched toward it, the more this strange feeling intensified.

As he drew near, Sky Wind began to hear a deafening ringing in his hear, a ringing that caused the inside of his head to simultaneously throb into a headache. This overwhelming pain forced him onto his knees with him holding his head.

Upon closing his eyes, he saw the shadowy figure of a mare glaring at him with red eyes, the same image he had seen when Xander tried to pry into his memories.

"Yessss," the mare whispered. "We are closer, closer."

Sky Wind groaned in pain as the ringing within his head increased with his headache.

The others had by this time taken notice and stopped what they were doing.

Rainbow Dash ran up next to him, trying to help him to his feet. "Sky Wind! Are you alright?"

He groaned as he was helped up, but continued to clasp his head in pain. "The amulet—I—I don't know what it's doing to me, but it's causing me to see and hear things."

Xander pocketed the amulet. Upon doing that, the visions and ringing within Sky Wind's head ceased, though he still suffered from a splitting headache.

"We'll take him to the bottom of the tower and see what's wrong," Xander explained.

* * *

The nine ponies made their way to the bottom of the tower, where they made their way outside and onto the bridge.

As Xander led them, he reached into his coat pocket, and, making sure Sky Wind wasn't looking, pulled out the Amulet to study it.

Twilight leaned next to him to likewise glance over the amulet. "What type of power do you think it holds?"

Xander shook his head. "Not sure myself, but I'm going to find out."

"More like we're going to find out!"

Xander and the others stopped in their tracks as they saw, standing before them, far across the bridge, three purple puffs of smoke. In their place appeared Squish, Swoosh, and Slash.

Swoosh held his hand out before him. "I commend you for braving the trials of the tower. It spared us the trouble of getting the amulet ourselves. Now by all means hand it over, or we will be forced to take it from you."

Pinkie Pie shoved Xander aside before he could say anything and pointed at the three lackeys. "Oh yeah, you and what army?"

Squish raised his staff aloft, causing the sapphire on the end to glow. Behind him and the other two appeared a dozen puffs of purple smoke that revealed shadow ponies. Several more purple smoke clouds exploded in the air and dissipated to reveal shadow pegasi.

Rainbow Dash glared at Pinkie. "You just had to ask."

Once more, Squish held out his hand before him as if her were begging. "I won't ask again: hand over the amulet."

Xander clasped tightly to the amulet in his hand. "You'll have to take it from us."

Squish whipped his staff before him. "So be it."

The gem on the end once more began to glow, and from it shot a fireball at Xander. Before it could crash into him, Xander disappeared, causing the fireball to crash into the ground where he once stood, with the impact causing the other ponies to leap out of the way and scream.

In a blink of an eye, he appeared behind the legion of shadow ponies. Before they could turn and face him, his horn glowed with blue magic and shot a beam of blue light, striking at least four shadow ponies and forcing them to disappear into purple smoke.

The remaining shadow ponies, along with the three lackeys, turned to face him and charge at him.

Before they could reach him, Xander flung the amulet over their heads and sent it flying across the bridge.

"Twilight, catch!" he yelled.

Hearing her name, Twilight dashed across the bridge with her eyes on the amulet. When it drew near her, she caught it using her magic as it floated in front of her with a purple aura.

She smiled knowing that she caught it, but her expression shifted as she noticed three shadow ponies charging toward her.

Quickly, she released the amulet from her magic and caught it by the chain with her teeth. She aimed her horn at the charging ponies. Her horned glowed purple, and from it shot a purple beam of light, causing the three shadow ponies to fly in three different directions and disappear into purple smoke.

She whipped her head clockwise and sent the amulet flying across the bridge toward her friends.

"Some pony, quick!" she cried.

The pony who caught the amulet was Pinkie Pie, who nearly fell off the bridge doing so.

Having caught the amulet, Pinkie danced a little jig. "Oh yeah! Go Pinkie! Go Pinkie! It's your birthday! It's your…"

Unfortunately, while dancing, she accidently flung the amulet off the bridge.

"Oopsy!" was all she could say.

Twilight face palmed and grunted in frustration.

Rainbow Dash leapt from where she stood and dove off the bridge. "Don't worry, leave it to me."

She quickly caught up to the amulet as it plunged into the ravine below, and in ten seconds flat, caught it in her hooves.

Quickly diverting her current flight path, Dash soared upward with the amulet in hoof. "Never you fear, your friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash is…"

Before she could finish, she was blind-sided by Swoosh, who charged right into her and forced her to let go of the amulet.

The amulet spiraled in the air until it fell into Swoosh's claws. "Ha! That'll shows yah!"

Just then, he was blind-sided, this time by Sky Wind. The pegasus charged head first into the tengu's chest, then spun around to roundhouse kick him away. As with Dash, the amulet flew out of his claws and into the air until Sky Wind caught it.

"You back off from Rainbow Dash, you hear?" he said.

Upon looking at the amulet, Sky Wind once again found himself with a pounding headache and a ringing in his ear. Shutting his eyes in pain, he once again saw the image of the mare with the glowing red eyes.

"Yesss," she whispered. "Take it, Sky Wind, take it."

Sky Wind clasped his forehead in pain and grunted. From his other hoof slipped the amulet. Once it had fallen a great distance away from him, his pain subsided, and he opened to see the amulet falling beneath him.

Fortunately, he was situated over the bridge where Applejack charged toward the falling amulet, catching it in her teeth.

Just as she did, she noticed shadow ponies charging at her from either direction. Without hesitation, she kicked her back legs at the shadow ponies behind her, striking them and making them disappear into purple smoke, and swiveling on her forehooves, spun around to strike the other two charging at her.

"That ain't how we play down on the farm," she yelled.

Noticing two more shadow ponies charging at her, she tossed the amulet behind her before kicking the charging shadow ponies with her forehooves. "Fluttershy, your move!"

Fluttershy caught the amulet by the chain with her teeth. She then yelped as she saw four shadow ponies surround her.

"Um, perhaps we could talk things out?" she asked.

The four ponies lunged at her. In a single leap, she drew her kendo stick and swirled around, striking each shadow pony and causing them to disappear into purple smoke clouds.

"I said let's talk things out!" she yelled.

She then noticed as Slash lunged at her. As he flung his claws down upon her, Fluttershy countered with her kendo stick, but soon found herself thrown upon her flank by the sheer impact.

Slash raised his claws once more and flung them down at Fluttershy, but was stopped by Ninja Star, who countered with his sword.

"Your issue is with me," he said.

Slash disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, revealing a log in his place.

Ninja Star gasped. "A substitute."

He soon felt the cold metal of Slash's claw against his neck, close enough for him to feel his own pulse within his jugular vein.

"The amulet, or your life, ninja pony," Slash breathed into Ninja Star's ear.

In a puff of smoke, Ninja Star likewise vanished.

Fluttershy gasped. "Another substitute."

Slash turned to see Ninja Star flying toward him, and receiving a single kick to the forehead, found himself being thrown at the feet of his comrades.

Slash painfully picked himself up. He and his two companions saw as Ninja Star and the other ponies stood across from them in fighting stances.

"Three is a crowd," Ninja Star said, sword brandished, "but nine is an army."

Squish grunted as he rose his staff in the air. "No way we can fight outnumbered. Retreat!"

With that, he and his two fellow Shadow Clan lackeys disappeared into puffs of smoke.

The nine ponies cheered, having vanquished their foes and retained possession of the amulet.

* * *

Within the moonlight lit throne room appeared three purple smoke clouds that dissipated to reveal the three defeated lackeys, who cowered before the presence of the Shadow Mare, staring down at them from atop her throne.

"The amulet, I take it you have retrieved it," she inquired.

The three lackeys gulped as they each took a weary step towards her and knelt.

"Well, you see, your majesty," Squish said.

"We were unable to gets it for yas," Swoosh continued.

"And it was all the fault of," Slash continued.

Each of the three stood to point an accusing finger at one another, "these fools!"

Upon seeing the others pointing at each other, their expressions of fear turned to anger as they each glared at one another.

"What? No. It wasn't me. It was you!" They all said in unison, each of their faces revealing more anger.

"Enough!" barked the Shadow Mare, forcing the three to jump and shirk back in fright.

The Shadow Mare surveyed each of her three minions cowering and trembling before her.

"It is clear that you failed to obtain the amulet," she said. "No matter. It may be in other hands now, but it will soon be in our own. We will move forward with our plans, and in doing so, take back what is rightfully ours, including the amulet—and this time, we will retrieve it, will we not?"

The three glanced at one another with sorry, frightened expressions, which they directed back at their mistress, nodding, and replying with "Yes, your majesty."

"Good," the Shadow Mare said. "This time, we will succeed, and Equestria will be ours."

* * *

_**Twilight:**__ Hey, it's me, Twilight Sparkle. Can you girls believe its been one year since we first attended the Grand Galloping Gala._

_**Rainbow Dash:**__ You mean we're invited again? Are you sure you want to go considering what happened last time?_

_**Fluttershy:**__ Um, Twilight, why does it seem like you have more tickets there?_

_**Twilight:**__ Don't know. It says here that—gasp—the Gala now requires each guest to bring an escort?!_

_**Dash:**__ What, you mean like a date?_

_**Fluttershy:**__ Oh my! Whomever will we bring?_

_**Twilight:**__ Next Time on My Little Pony: "To The Grand Galloping Gala, Night Of Wonder!"_

_**Dash:**__ Hee, hee, hee! I bet I know who you're going with, Twi!'_

* * *

**My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and characters © Hasbro and Lauren Faust**  
**Xander © Me**  
**Skywind © ex626AKAKeon**  
**Ninja Star © ninjaninjanoob23**

**Voice Credits**

**Twilight Sparkle ...Tara Strong**  
**Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy...Andrea Libman**  
**Applejack, Rainbow Dash...Ashleigh Ball**  
**Rarity, Princess Luna...Tabitha St. Germain**  
**Princess Celestia...Nicole Oliver**  
**Spike...Cathy Weseluck**  
**Xander...Vic Mignogna**  
**Sky Wind...Antony Del Rio**  
**Ninja Star...Dave Wittenberg**  
**Squish...Samuel Vincent**  
**Swoosh...Derek Stephen Prince**  
**Slash...Roger Labon Jackson**  
**Shadow Mare...Susanne Blakeslee**  
**Dark Stallion...Ron Perlman**


	8. Episode 08

**My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic presents**

**The Dark Stallion**

**Episode 08: To The Grand Galloping Gala, Night Of Wonder!**

* * *

Last time on _My Little Pony_:

_After much study and research, Xander finally discovered the location of the Amulet of Purity. At first, he refused the assistance of Twilight and the others, but later reluctantly accepted their help after they saved his life. Together, they scaled Union Tower, braving the trials of fire, ice, and water, until they reached the top. Through the magic of the Elements of Harmony, they uncovered and obtained the fabled amulet. The Shadow Clan later appeared to seize the amulet for themselves, but were defeated by the combined strength of our heroes. However, this does not appear to be the Shadow Clan's last stand. Will the Shadow Clan strike again to claim the amulet and its hidden powers?_

* * *

Twilight Sparkle, with Spike riding on her back, rushed through the doors of Sugarcube Corner where the rest of her friends were hanging out.

"Girls, great news!"

The other ponies turned their attention to her.

Rarity finished taking a sip of her tea. "What is it, dear?"

"A letter from Princess Celestia," Twilight replied upon approaching them.

Spike pulled from behind his back a scroll with a royal seal upon it. He promptly unfurled it, and, with a clear of his throat, began to read.

"Hear ye, hear ye! The royal princesses Celestia and Luna of Equestria cordially extend an invitation to Twilight Sparkle and her friends to the Grand Galloping Gala, to be held in the capital city of Canterlot by week's end."

Most other ponies would have been flipping somersaults upon receiving such an announcement. Not so Twilight and her friends. They might as well have received an invitation to a dentist appointment.

Applejack scratched her chin. "Golly, has it been a year already?"

"Seems like the Grand Galloping Gala was only yesterday," Pinkie Pie added.

Rarity groaned. "Don't remind me. That was a disaster most of us would rather forget!"

* * *

_Applejack pushed a cart with a giant five-layer apple cake into the middle of the ballroom._

_"Okay, all you high class ponies," she announced. "Here's a high-balloon apple cake for all your hoity-toity taste buds!"_

_"Stage dive!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she leapt off the ballroom stage and into the cake, splattering it over everyone within distance._

* * *

_"Afraid to get dirty?" Rarity screamed at Prince Blueblood before shaking off all the cake frosting from her as a dog would shake off mud._

* * *

_Rainbow Dash zipped under the falling unicorn statue, catching it before it could crash onto the floor. The weight, however, forced her to lose balance and crash into a series of pillars, all which fell like a line of dominos._

* * *

_The doors to the ballroom burst open as a stampede of animals rushed in, Flutershy chasing after them._

_"You're going to LOVE ME!" she screamed._

* * *

With the other ponies having recalled the events from the last Gala, the invitation sounded less like that for a dentist appointment and more like that for an a root canal.

"Are you sure that's an invitation?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Or is it a restraining order?"

Twilight giggled. "Oh come on, girls. I know our first time wasn't the most ideal, but who knows? Maybe this time will be better. Besides, Princess Celestia said herself that she invited us last time because she knew we would make it all the more exciting, and that's probably why she invited us again this year too."

"Let's just hope we don't make it too exciting this year," Fluttershy replied.

Spike gave a large belch. From his dragon breath appeared a handful of tickets.

"Looks like we finally have the tickets," he said. Upon counting them, he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Um, all 12 of them?"

"12?" everyone else exclaimed.

"Are you sure she didn't accidently send too many?" Twilight asked.

"Well I reckon it's better than sending too little," Applejack replied. "Remember last time when she sent only two?"

"Don't remind me," Twilight said with a groan.

Spike re-read the letter, this time noticing a post script.

"P.S.: New Gala standards now require all guests to bring along an escort." He turned to Twilight. "What's an escort?"

"Oh, it's just a fancy way of saying a date," Twilight replied nonchalantly before realizing what she had just said.

"A date?" She and the others exclaimed, their eyes wide in shock.

"You mean to tell me that every girl pony has to bring along a guy pony and visa-versey?" Applejack asked.

Pinkie Pie grinned. "If you swing that way, then yes."

Applejack raised a stink eye. "Now what the hay is that supposed to mean?"

Pinkie thought for a moment, unsure herself. "Don't know. I never understood what that meant either."

"But wherever are we going to find colts at such short notice?" Rarity asked.

Rainbow Dash laughed, reclining back in self-confidence. "Well, that's easy for me. I'll just bring along Sky Wind."

"Who do you think I should bring along?" Fluttershy asked. "I don't know that many colts."

"Of course you do," Dash replied. "What about Ninja Star?"

Fluttershy blushed bright red. "Oh! Um, well, I never really thought about him that way—"

Rainbow elbowed her playfully. "Why wouldn't you? You two have been growing close to each other ever since you started training with him."

Fluttershy blushed an even brighter shade of red.

"And, of course, Twilight here is going to invite her colt friend, Xander," Dash announced.

Twilight felt a cold shock upon hearing that. "What? Xander's not my colt friend."

"Well, you are going to ask him, right?"

"Oh please! What makes you think I ever would?"

"Well, who else are you going to ask?"

Twilight hesitated for a moment as she thought. "Well—there's—um—no—and there's—uh—I could ask—no, wait—uh—"

The other ponies and Spike looked at Twilight intensely, knowing very well Twilight was going to ask Xander, regardless of whether or not she was willing to admit it.

Twilight groaned. "All right. I'll ask him. But only because I can't think of anypony else. I'm sure he'll be able to come."

* * *

"What do you mean you're not able to come?!" Twilight exclaimed. She was inside Xander's room as he was busy packing his belongings in a suitcase.

"Like I said," Xander said, searching through his drawers and pulling out his clothes to pack. "I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning on the next train out of town."

"But—but—why leave?" Twilight asked.

"I've done all I needed to do here in Ponyville," Xander replied. "I've finished my research and found the Amulet of Purity. There's nothing left for me to do here."

"But where are you going to go?" Twilight asked.

Xander shut his suitcase, thinking intensely. "I'm not sure myself. I can't go home. There's no home for me to go to."

Twilight scoffed. "So you're just going to leave without knowing where you're even going?"

Xander picked up his suitcase and set it on the edge of his bed. "That's the way I usually roll. Though this time, it seems like I have nothing left, aside for perhaps tracking down my father's killer."

He took the Amulet from out of his pocket and inspected it. "I already found what I needed to find. I just never thought of what I would do after I found it. Heck, I don't even know what it's good for. I would stay and conduct further research on the matter, but as far as I can tell, I already researched everything I could about it, what little there is. And so far, I have nothing."

Twilight thought for a moment. Her eyes shot wide open as she thought of an idea. "That Amulet, it's connected to the Elements of Harmony, correct?"

Xander pocketed the Amulet before turning to Twilight. "Of what we've seen so far, it is."

"Perhaps Princess Celestia knows something about it," Twilight asked.

Xander rested his chin upon his hoof, thinking. "That's a possibility. But how am I supposed to have an audience with the highest pony in the land?"

Twilight chuckled. "Well, it just so happens that you're looking at her most faithful student."

Xander gasped. "You'll make a connection for me to meet the Princess?"

Twilight pulled out her two Gala tickets. "She'll be at the Gala later this week. I have the tickets right here."

Xander became less enthused as he realized what Twilight was suggesting. "And you expect me to come with you?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes."

"And you're not going to introduce me to her in any other way?" Xander asked.

Twilight giggled mischievously. "Yes."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess I'm going to the Gala then."

Twilight squealed in glee.

* * *

The end of the week fast approached, and the ponies met outside Rarity's Carousel Boutique. The six girls were pampered and prepped, dressed in the outfits they wore last year. Rarity was planning on making new dresses for them this year, but decided not to. Why improve on something that was already perfect to begin with?

As was expected, Twilight brought along Xander, Fluttershy brought along Ninja Star, and Rainbow Dash brought along Sky Wind. The three colts all wore suits that Rarity had made especially for them. Both Xander and Sky Wind wore traditional suits custom-tailored to their personalities, while Ninja Star wore something much more oriental.

The other girls had brought along their escorts, too. Applejack invited her brother, Big Macintosh. This did not embarrass her one bit, considering that the invitation didn't specify that their escorts couldn't be related. Besides, it reminded her of the time Big Mac escorted her to prom.

Pinkie Pie brought along her pet alligator, Gummy, much to the protests of the other girls. Pinkie argued that the invitation didn't specify that the escort had to be a pony. Besides, Pinkie Pie insisted that Gummy looked good in a Top Hat.

As for Rarity, though she had tried desperately to find a colt, she could not find a male escort at such short notice, forcing her to take Spike along with her, much to his enjoyment.

As they did last time, Twilight transformed an apple into a carriage to carry them to the Gala.

Xander circled the wagon, admiring Twilight's handiwork. "An apple into a carriage? Novice, but impressive nonetheless, if I may say so."

His comments made Twilight blush.

"But it doesn't appear big enough to carry us all. And besides, what's going to pull it?"

With that, the six mares giggled in unison as they gazed at the colts. It seemed as though the answer was pretty obvious.

The next thing they knew, Xander, Sky Wind, Ninja Star, and Big Mac were pulling the wagon. Spike and Gummy sat up front holding the reins, while the mares rode inside chatting amongst themselves. Big Mac had no problem pulling the wagon for his sister. Neither did Ninja Star or Sky Wind if it meant pleasing Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash respectively. Xander, on the other hand, was less than enthused, grumbling and muttering under his breath as he pulled the carriage to Canterlot.

The sun had completely set once they arrived to the castle, which looked as beautiful as it did the previous gala. There, all the ponies were dressed in their finest evening attire as they unloaded from their wagons.

When they had finally parked their carriage and made their way to the entrance, everyone went their separate ways. Xander went with Twilight to find Princess Celestia, Sky Wind went with Rainbow Dash so she could introduce him to the Wonderbolts, and everyone else went off to do whatever.

* * *

In the main hall, Princess Celestia was standing with Luna atop the mezzanine as she did last year, greeting the guests as they approached. Twilight and Xander entered the hall. Twilight quickly galloped toward her mentor with Xander following behind her.

"Princess Celestia," Twilight exclaimed.

The Princess smiled down upon her faithful student as she approached. "Twilight Sparkle. It's such a pleasure to have my star pupil here at the Gala once more." She then gazed at Xander. "And who is this fine young colt you have with you?"

"This is Xander, your majesty," Twilight motioned to Xander. "He's been eager to meet you tonight."

Xander stepped forward and gave a gentle bow. "It is an honor, your majesty."

"Xander, eh?" Celestia said. "I've heard much about you from the Headmaster of Gringhorn's Magical Academy. It's only fitting that his finest student would be dating mine."

Both Xander and Twilight gasped and blushed.

"Umm, actually, your majesty, we're not dating," Twilight said, feeling slightly embarrassed. "He's just my escort for tonight. And as I said, he's been eager to meet you."

Celestia gave a warm chuckle. "Well, I would love nothing more than to spend time with you two tonight. However, if you recall, Twilight, I will be mostly busy greeting the guests as they arrive. I do not wish for you to be bored like last time. So if you'd prefer, you and Xander may go off on your own for now, and when I am finished, I will meet up with you both later."

"Actually, your majesty," Xander said, slightly protesting, "I was meaning to—"

"We will be honored, your majesty," Twilight interrupted as she took Xander by the hoof and dragged him down the stairs. "Come, Xander."

"Hey, wait!" Xander protested.

"Have a good evening you two," Celestia said as they left.

* * *

Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind were wandering the castle in search of the Wonderbolts.

"So you know the Wonderbolts?" Sky Wind asked.

"Are you kidding?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We go way back. I once saved their necks back at the Cloud Games, which I happened to win first place, by the way."

"Did you see them last year?" Sky Wind asked.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash, "But it wasn't what I had expected. But maybe this year will be much better."

"Hey! Is that who I think it is?" a voice exclaimed from behind them.

The two turned to see Spitfire and Soarin' approach them. Rainbow Dash nearly had a heart attack, giving off a slight squeal, as she saw her role models approach her.

"You're that girl from last time," Spitfire said. "The one who saved us, twice in a row. Rainbow Dash, isn't it?"

Rainbow Dash tried desperately to compose herself. "Yup, that's me alright."

Spitfire gazed at Sky Wind. "And I see you have a friend here."

Sky Wind blushed as he gave a little wave. "Yeah, my name's Sky Wind."

"Sky Wind, Rainbow Dash, care to join us?" Spitfire asked.

Rainbow Dash nearly died as she nodded in response. The four walked off to the dining area. Dash clasped Sky Wind's hoof in a short squeal.

* * *

Twilight made her way down one of the palace hallways with Xander in tow.

"You two seem to be in a hurry," a voice from behind them said.

The two ponies turned to see a royal guard approaching them. At first, Twilight could not recognize him—that is, until he removed his helmet.

"Shining Armor," she exclaimed in a gasp as she rushed forward to embrace her big brother.

The captain of the royal guard accepted and embraced his little sister in his arms. "Twily! It's been so long. I hear you moved to Ponyville for some long distance education. I take it Celestia has been keeping you busy with your studies. That's why you haven't returned to Canterlot."

Twilight broke her embrace and nodded. "Yes, and I take it Celestia has kept you busy guarding the castle, so you've been too busy to visit in Ponyville."

Shining Armor responded with a nod and a laugh. "Yeah, the duty of a royal captain of the guard is never done. It's even keeping me from enjoying the evening, which I was really hoping to spend with a special somepony—that is, if she was here tonight."

He glanced over Twilight's shoulder and noticed Xander, who had remained silent during their moment. "But I see you have a special somepony of your own here."

Twilight shifted her gazed between her big brother and her escort. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Shining Armor, this is—"

"Xander," Shining Armor finished.

Xander gave a salute. "Shining Armor, sir!"

Twilight blinked in confusion. "You two know each other?"

Shining Armor nodded. "From the academy. He was a freshmen during my senior year in Gringhorn's. I was even a supervisor during some of his training and practice missions. He was one of the finest students I've seen at the academy."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Oh, I really wouldn't boast—"

"I hear you even graduated with top honors in your class. That is certainly something to boast about. I barely even passed by with a passing grade point average—yet here I am, captain of the royal guard. I'd figure that only the finest colt would be dating my little sister."

Twilight and Xander both simultaneously blushed and replied with, "we're not dating," only to further blush when they realized they said the same thing.

"Anyway," Twilight said, "I would really like to introduce you to my other friends."

"And I would love to meet them," Shining Armor interrupted, "but I'm afraid I have to return to my post. I normally make most of my rounds on the battlements. That's why you missed me the first time around at the last Gala."

Twilight then heard music beginning to play in the distance. "Well, I'll leave you to your work then."

She tugged Xander as they rushed away. "Hurry, the music is about to start."

Shining Armor placed his helmet back onto his head and turned to leave. "I probably should have told her that we had received intelligence of a possible security threat tonight. But probably best not to spill the beans and worry her and the other guests. Not to worry. Every pony's safe under my watch."

* * *

Fluttershy and Ninja Star were walking hoof in hoof outside the palace in the light of the moon.

"Such a beautiful night tonight," Ninja Star commented.

Fluttershy walked closely to him, laying her head ever so slightly against his shoulder. "It is, isn't it? Whatever would you like to do on such a night?"

Ninja Star thought to himself for a moment. "I hear that the gardens are lovely this time of year."

Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat when she heard the word "gardens." Her eyes shot wide open as she felt a cold shock rush through her.

"It is said to have a dazzling array of flora and fauna." Ninja Star continued. "I am certain it is a place you would love. Have you ever been there?"

Fluttershy said nothing as the awful memories from the last Gala flooded here mind—how she had slowly became infuriated as the animals avoided her, until she had completely lost her temper and chased them as a stampede into the palace.

"You're—going to love me!"

She heard those words echo within her mind, bringing her great shame.

Ninja Star gazed at her as she stared at the ground with a slightly sad expression.

"Fluttershy-san?" He asked.

Fluttershy quickly realized she was still with him, and in a slightly cheerier mood, replied, "Not really, no."

* * *

Twilight dragged Xander into the ballroom.

"This is ridiculous," Xander moaned. "I'm supposed to meet with the Princess, not gallivant all over the Gala."

"Hey, I want to see Princess Celestia as much as you do," Twilight said. "But she's busy right now. So let's just enjoy the evening while we can."

Just then, the orchestra began to play, and all the ponies gathered in the ballroom began coupling with their dance partners.

"Oh! We're just in time for the next dance," Twilight exclaimed, dragging Xander to the center of the ballroom floor.

"Dance?" Xander asked. "But I have two left back hooves."

Twilight stopped when they reached the middle of the floor and turned to him. "Just follow my lead."

She took Xander by the hoof and placed his other hoof on her waist. The music began, and the two started waltzing to the rhythm. Needless to say, Xander started out clumsily, stumbling occasionally over himself and Twilight. But as the song progressed, Xander soon got the hang out of dancing, as he and Twilight danced in perfect rhythm. Now and then, the two would mess up, even bumping into another couple, but neither cared. At that moment, it felt as if the two had the ballroom to themselves. The two felt close to each other, even if they didn't want to admit it.

The song ended, and everyone bowed and curtseyed to their dance partner, Twilight and Xander included.

"Bravo!" a voice called out. "You two were amazing."

The two turned to see Princess Celestia approach them.

"Princess," they both exclaimed.

"I believe the last of the guests have arrived," Celestia said. "Now you two had something you wanted to share with me?"

* * *

The gardens were alive with its many plant and animal life. A nightingale sang in the moonlight. A hummingbird zipped from flower to flower collecting nectar. The squirrels scampered through the treetops. Several flamingos sat in the coolness of the pond. The rabbits bounced amidst the diverse flora. So many more animals gathered within the gardens enjoying themselves.

That is, until Fluttershy arrived.

She and Ninja Star entered the garden. Fluttershy felt uneasy re-entering it, but Ninja Star, with this being his first time there, took in the sights and sound in delight.

Just then, one of the rabbits noticed Fluttershy. A mental image of her angry and disheveled face flashed through its mind. "You're—going—to love me!"

It screamed a high-pitch cry, alerting the other animals. When they noticed Fluttershy, they became frantic in panic, crying and rushing as far away from her as possible. The birds retreated to the trees; the animals, to the recluses of the fauna.

Ninja Star stood confused. He looked down to Fluttershy, who was beginning to tear up, her gaze lower to the ground than before.

"Fluttershy-san?" He asked. "Whatever is the matter?"

Fluttershy broke out crying as she buried her face in her hooves. She quickly retreated to a nearby rock. Ninja Star pursued her.

"Oh, Ninja Star-kun," she cried. "I had been so horrible to these animals—so very, very horrible."

Ninja Star raised his eyebrows. "Horrible? You? How so?"

Fluttershy began choking back her sobs. "I wanted to be friends with them so badly at the last Gala, but they kept running away from me. I became so impatient with them that I ended up lashing out at them in anger, chasing them, trying to trap them, and then—"

She couldn't finish. She could only continue sobbing. Her tears flowed from her face and out of her hoofs like an overflowing fountain. Ninja Star knelt down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. Fluttershy clung to his shoulder, watering them with her tears.

"I'm such a horrible filly," she cried.

"You are no such thing," Ninja Star said. "I have seen you these past few weeks. You are a kind soul towards animals. These animals simply need to take the time to know you, to truly see what a kind filly you really are."

Fluttershy looked up, wiping away her tears. "I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, Ninja Star-kun, but I just don't think—"

Before she could finish, she heard a melody singing from above. She and Ninja Star turned their gaze upward to see a fiery light like a comet flying from the highest tower of the castle into the garden below. It circled the garden several times, singing its enchanting song, before landing in front of the two. Upon closer inspection, they recognized it to be a tall, eagle-like bird of fiery, golden plumage.

"A phoenix," Ninja Star gasped.

"Philomena!" Fluttershy gasped.

Philomena leapt from the ground and hovered toward Fluttershy who extended her arm, upon which Philomena perched.

"You know this bird?" Ninja Star asked.

Fluttershy giggled as Philomena nuzzled her head against her face, the warmth drying away her tears. "I met her back when Princess Celestia visited Ponyville. She was in her molting phase, back then. I thought she was sick, and I decided to take care of her, but then she turned to ashes and was reborn into her phoenix form."

Ninja Star smiled. "In my home country, the Phoenix is a sign of good luck. This is a very rare bird. Celestia is fortunate to have her as a pet, and you are fortunate to have her as a friend."

Philomena gave a small coo. Fluttershy and Ninja Star noticed the other animals peering at them from a distance.

"Looks like the animals are beginning to take interest in you now that they see that you're friends with Philomena," Ninja Star said.

Philomena then began to sing her enchanting melody once more, a melody which Fluttershy and Ninja Star quickly recognized.

"That song," Ninja Star said. "I remember it from when I was little."

"Same here." Fluttershy added.

Ninja Star produced a reed flute from his sleeve and began to play along with Philomena. The two melodies intertwined, creating a harmony that wafted through the night air in the garden as a perfume, luring the animals from their hiding places.

As Fluttershy saw the animals approach, her heart began to well up inside of her. Her tears of sorrow became tears of joy as from her bosom sprang a song—a song which she started to sing.

As she sang and the others played, the animals began drawing nearer and nearer. When their song had finished, they looked around and saw that they were surrounded by a variety of wildlife—birds, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, turtles, and even a deer.

Fluttershy looked to her feet and saw a rabbit slowly but carefully approach her. It slightly cowered, not knowing what would occur if he approached any further.

"Everyone, I'm so sorry for the way I acted last year," Fluttershy said. "Can you all forgive me?"

The rabbit leapt into her lap and began brushing against her.

"I think that is a yes," Ninja Star replied.

Fluttershy giggled as she began to stroke the bunny and admire the animals around her.

* * *

Twilight and Xander stood within the throne room before Princess Celestia and Luna.

"Now, Twilight, what was it you wanted to speak with us about?" Princess Celestia addressed her faithful student.

Twilight bowed before gesturing to Xander. "My princesses, Xander here has something he wants to share with you two."

Xander took two steps forward and bowed. "Your majesties, my father was a renowned archeologist who dedicated his life in search of a rare artifact. After his death, I dedicated my own to fulfilling his legacy and finding that artifact. After much traveling and research, I have finally uncovered it."

From his pocket he produced the amulet. Both Celestia and Luna's eyes lit up upon seeing it.

"I present to you the Amulet of Purity. I am ashamed to admit that, despite my research into it, I am very ignorant of its power and potential, as very little is written about it. I know it is an artifact of great power, but what that power is, I do not know. Twilight here said that you two may know."

Celestia and Luna looked at each other before looking back at Xander.

"It has been a long time since we last saw that amulet," Luna said.

"Indeed," Celestia nodded. "The Amulet of Purity did contain great power, one that was passed through the lineage of sovereigns in Equestria up until Luna and I, when we both decided it was best to transfer that power to the six Elements of Harmony, lest it fall into the wrong hands."

Xander looked at the Amulet and raised one eyebrow. "So, in other words, this Amulet is powerless? It's useless?"

Celestia shook her head. "Not quite. It can retain its power once more if we were to transfer it back from the Elements; but as I had stated, we transferred that power to the Elements in the first place to protect it from falling into the wrong hands and being used for evil intent. But yes, as it is, it is powerless."

Xander sighed with an exasperated expression on his face, looking down at the amulet.

"Do not despair," Luna said. "You are free to keep it for your own. Consider it a reward for your hard work and dedication finding it."

"Hmm," Xander hummed as he closed his eyes and smirked. "I appreciate the honor, your majesties, but to be perfectly honest, I didn't even search for it to obtain its power, whatever it may have been. I don't even care about keeping it. I merely wanted to finish what my father started. And now that I have, well, there really is no need for it."

He used his magic to levitate the amulet over to Twilight and hang it around her neck. "Here, I think it looks better on you than me."

He turned to the Princesses and bowed once more. "Pardon me, your majesties, but I believe my time here is finished. I've done all that I needed to do here. Good evening."

He turned to leave out the door.

Twilight gasped. "Xander?" He did not respond. "Xander." He walked out the door. "Xander!"

She turned to the princesses and bowed. "Beg your pardons, your majesties."

She quickly raced after Xander, calling out after him.

* * *

"Get out! You two managed to stop a tornado?" Spitfire asked with a laugh. She was sitting with Dash and the others at a small table. She took a sip from her wineglass while her Wonderbolts companion was chowing down on a pie. Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind both sat opposite to them with glasses of pink lemonade.

"That we did!" Rainbow Dash boasted. "It was just a matter of circling it at a speed faster than itself."

Spitfire took another sip of her wine. "I have to hand it to you, I'm quite impressed. First you perform a Sonic Rainboom, then you help the Ponyville pegasi siphon water from the reservoir, and now you stop a tornado."

Rainbow Dash looked to Sky Wind and placed her arm around his shoulder. "I couldn't have done it without Sky Wind here. Without him, I couldn't have reached the speed nearly fast enough to slow it down."

"We could definitely use flyers like you on our team," Spitfire replied. She looked towards her partner. "Am I right, Soarin?"

Soarin' picked his face from out of his pie, filling and crust dripping from his chin. "Mm-Hmm!" was all he could say before returning to his pie.

Dash covered her mouth with her hoof to hide her squeal of joy, blushing madly. "You—you really mean that?"

"Absolutely," Spitfire said, raising her glass. "I know a future Wonderbolt when I see her. You're a prime candidate for the Wonderbolt Academy."

Rainbow Dash raised her hoof over her face to hide her blush.

Spitfire looked over to Sky Wind sipping on his lemonade.

"So how long have you and your coltfriend been dating," she asked.

Upon hearing that, Sky Wind took a spittake in the opposite direction and began choking.

Dash began patting him on the back. "Um, actually, he's not my coltfriend. He's just some pony I'm trying to help with getting his memory back."

Soarin' had finished his pie and began licking the remains around him lips. "But he is a colt, and he is your friend, right?"

Spitfire simply facehoofed.

* * *

Xander walked across the palace's patio, past one of its many fountains, heading towards the gateway. He nearly reached it when he noticed someone behind him.

"So that's it? You're just going to up and leave?"

He turned to see Twilight standing in the open doorway, leaning against its ivory frame, the light from within pouring onto the dark patio.

"You're not even going to stay for the Gala?" she asked in a voice wavering between frustrated and hurt. "Not even going to say goodbye to any pony?"

Xander gazed at the ground. "I've finally found what I've been looking for. As far as I'm concerned, I'm done here. There's no point in staying. I don't really care for parties or goodbyes."

"And where were you planning to go?" Twilight asked, slowly walking towards him.

"I don't even know myself." Xander said, shrugging his shoulders. "I've always been a wanderer, traveling from town to town. I would say I was heading home, but as I said, there's no home for me to head back to."

"What about Ponyville?" Twilight asked, stopping in her tracks.

"Ponyville isn't my home," Xander replied.

"Of course it is," Twilight said. "Home is where your friends are."

Xander raised his head and looked towards Twilight. He gave a snicker. "And you still think we're friends?"

"Well—of course we are," Twilight said. "What else would we be?"

Xander turned his back towards Twilight and gazed at the ground.

"You know very well I don't need friends," he said. "I'm perfectly fine on my own."

"That's just stupid," Twilight retorted. "Everyone needs friends. And that's why you need to stay in Ponyville with us. You said yourself you have nowhere else to go. You've been meandering all your life. Isn't it about time you settled down for once?"

Xander turned back to face Twilight. They stood silently gazing at one another for a brief moment before he walked towards the fountain and sat upon its edge, gazing into the water at his reflection.

"Twilight, what exactly do you see in a colt like me?" Xander asked.

Twilight walked beside him and gazed into her own reflection. "Well, in a lot of ways," she turned her eyes to Xander. "You remind me of myself."

Xander glanced at Twilight, his one eyebrow raised. "How so?"

"I used to be just like you, always keeping to myself, trying to study and improve my magic," she said. "I wanted nothing more than to impress my mentor, Princess Celestia, and I didn't want anything to get in the way of that, especially friends. I thought I could do it all on my own. I even thought I could defeat Nightmare Moon by myself. But Celestia insisted that I had something more important to do."

"What was that?" Xander asked.

"Make friends," Twilight replied.

Xander looked at her in disbelief.

"I know," Twilight continued, "I felt the same way. I didn't see the point in making friends, but Celestia sent me to Ponyville to do just that. It was there I met Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. They were eager to make friends with me, even when I didn't want to make friends with them. But it was a good thing I did. They helped me find the Elements of Harmony and defeat Nightmare Moon. It was then that I learned the importance of friendship, and we've all been the best of friends ever since, being there for each other when we needed help, especially when we couldn't help ourselves."

The two stared into the fountain at their own reflection, then to each other's.

"You really think I would do better in Ponyville with friends?" Xander asked.

Twilight looked at him. "I don't think that, I know that."

Before they could say another word, fireworks began exploding in the night sky above. The two looked up to watch the array of colors and lights flashing above them. Xander briefly glanced at Twilight. He soon realized under the flashing lights how lovely she looked in her gala outfit. On second thought, he simply realized that she looked lovely period.

Twilight then noticed Xander staring at her, and glanced back at him into his dark blue eyes. She had also realized how charming he had looked.

The two were soon trapped within each other's eyes, the night around them melting away. They were soon drawn towards one another like magnets, their faces inching towards each other. Their eyes closed, and their lips nearly touched when the fireworks disappeared and the night sky darkened.

They ceased their moment together and shot their gaze upward to see dark clouds circling the castle. Twilight gasped.

* * *

"Wasn't it supposed to be clear night, tonight?" Spitfire asked.

She, Soarin, Rainbow Dash, and Sky Wind gazed through the glass ceiling at the dark clouds gathering.

"What are those weather pegasi doing?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I don't think this is the weather pegasi."

* * *

Thunder and lightning roared from above, forcing Fluttershy to whimper and cling to Ninja Star. They were both sheltered by Philomena and her wings. The animals moved in close to them for safety and comfort.

* * *

Wherever they were, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spike, along with the other Gala guests, stopped what they were doing to look at the dark sky forming above them.

* * *

Shining Armor and the other guards stopped within their tracks upon the palace's battlements as they gazed into the sky.

One guard turned to Shining Armor. "Sir, what make you of this unexpected weather?"

Shining Armor drew his sword. "I believe this is the security threat we were waiting for."

* * *

Celestia and Luna peered through the throne room windows as the dark clouds circled and the lightning and thunder crashed.

"Methinks this is a dark omen, my sister," Luna said.

Celestia nodded. "Very dark indeed."

* * *

Another round of lighting and thunder crashed, and the lights within the castle dimmed, forcing screams and cries from the guests within. Panic ensued when several puffs of purple smoke exploded in the ballroom and castle, revealing shadow ninja. A giant black cloud exploded in the middle of the ballroom, and in its place appeared the Shadow Mare. She laughed as she witnessed the guests around her scampering here and there in panic.

"Tonight, Equestria as you know it falls!" she announced.

* * *

_**Twilight:** Oh no! Of all the times the Shadow Clan could attack, why did they have to choose the Gala?!_

_**Xander:** They're after the amulet. Quick, hurry to the princesses and make sure they and the amulet are safe._

_**Dash:** Great! Here I am chilling with the Wonderbolts, and the Shadow Clan has to come along and ruin the moment!_

_**Sky Wind:** Don't worry, Dash! I'll help you defeat them._

_**Swoosh:** What's the matter, Sky Wind? Forget your mission?_

_**Sky Wind:** What do you mean? And how do you know my name?_

_**Twilight:** Next time, "The Gala Crashed! Princesses In Peril!"_

_**Shadow Mare:** Sky Wind, my dear, it's time that you remember who you are._

* * *

**My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and characters © Hasbro and Lauren Faust**  
**Xander © Me**  
**Skywind © ex626AKAKeon**  
**Ninja Star © ninjaninjanoob23**

**Voice Credits**

**Twilight Sparkle ...Tara Strong**  
**Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy...Andrea Libman**  
**Applejack, Rainbow Dash...Ashleigh Ball**  
**Rarity, Princess Luna...Tabitha St. Germain**  
**Princess Celestia...Nicole Oliver**  
**Spike...Cathy Weseluck**  
**Xander...Vic Mignogna**  
**Sky Wind...Antony Del Rio**  
**Ninja Star...Dave Wittenberg**  
**Squish...Samuel Vincent**  
**Swoosh...Derek Stephen Prince**  
**Slash...Roger Labon Jackson**  
**Shadow Mare...Susanne Blakeslee**  
**Dark Stallion...Ron Perlman**


	9. Episode 09

**_My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_**** presents**

**The Dark Stallion**

**Episode 09: The Gala Crashed! Princesses In Peril!**

* * *

Last time on _My Little Pony_:

_After retrieving the Amulet of Purity, Twilight and her friends were invited to attend the Grand Galloping Gala. Their Gala experience this year proved to be more pleasurable than their first visit. Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind were able to hang out with her idols, the Wonderbolts, Fluttershy was able to make amends with the royal garden animals along with the help of Ninja Star, and Twilight was able to spend some quality time with her mentor, Princess Celestia, but not without enjoying the Gala with Xander. When he was able to request an audience with the princesses, Xander was informed, much to his dismay, that there was not much to the Amulet. He would have left, but not without Twilight convincing him to stay and to open up to others. Unfortunately, their touching moment was interrupted by the invasion of the Shadow Clan? What sinister motives do they have in store for our heroes?_

* * *

Dark clouds sizzling with thunder and lightning circled above the palace, concealing the otherwise moon-and-star-lit night sky.

As confused and terrified Gala guests gazed aghast at the sky outside, from within the palace ballroom, guests stood silent and trembling in the presence of the Shadow Mare, who gazed down upon them with her glowing red eyes.

"Citizens of Equestria," she addressed them, "I have come to inform you that the reign of your two princesses shall soon wane, and in their place, the rightful sovereign shall ascend his throne. Equestria as you know it will come to an end, and with it shall begin the reign of the Dark Stallion."

As the Shadow Mare disappeared, cackling, other puffs of purple smoke appeared throughout the ballroom, bringing about a legion of shadow ponies. Their appearance provoked panic among the Gala guests, who began screaming and rushing about in an attempt to escape.

* * *

Watching through the palace windows, Princess Celestia and Luna could see the dark clouds swirling above the castle and hear screams of terror echo throughout the palace walls.

Luna turned to her sister. "What do you make of this, sister?"

Celestia could only shake her head as she turned her back away from the window. "I'm not sure myself, but one thing is certain—"

She sprinted forward as she raced toward the door, with Luna in pursuit. "We need to gather the Elements and find Twilight and her friends. Only they can defeat this threat that has befallen us."

* * *

From outside, Twilight Sparkle and Xander could hear the cries and screams of ponies being terrorized by shadow ponies.

"The Shadow Clan," Xander said through clenched teeth.

"What are they doing here?" Twilight asked.

"We were supposed to be invited," a voice behind them replied, "but our invitations were lost in the mail."

The two unicorns turned to see Squish hovering above them with scepter in hand.

"So we decided to crash the party instead." He raised his staff, whose gem began to glow with blue magic. "I always preferred making a big splash!"

He flung his staff toward the two ponies, shooting a blue magic orb at them.

Xander leapt to the left. Twilight leapt to the right. Both dodged the ball of energy as it crashed into the fountain that was behind them, destroying it into fragments of stone and sprays of water that flew in every direction.

Squish slowly descended to the ground and held out his free hand. "I do believe you two have something we require."

Xander clenched the amulet within his hoof. "They're after the amulet."

He flung it toward Twilight, who caught it with her magic. "Quick, get it to the princesses and make sure they are safe."

Twilight nodded and swiftly turned to run inside the palace.

Squish raised his staff once more. "Oh, no you don't!"

Once again his staff's gem glowed blue with magic, and from it, shot a blue magic orb at Twilight.

The orb was quickly intercepted by Xander, who deflected it with a shield of dark blue magic. His shield sent the orb flying straight back at Squish, who reabsorbed it back into his staff. Twilight managed to escape into the castle as Xander stood his ground and stared down Squish.

* * *

From atop the palace battlements, royal guards clashed with shadow ponies. While the guards found themselves outnumbered by the invading shadows three to one, nevertheless, they stood their ground and held their defense.

Being the most elite soldiers in all of Equestria, as one should be in order to defend the lives of the royal monarchs, the guards were able to fell most of the intruders into puffs of purple smoke, and yet, being overwhelmed by their sheer numbers, quickly found themselves growing tired.

The Captain of the Royal Guard himself, Shining Armor, from where he stood atop the battlement, raised his sword on high. "Stand your ground, men! Defend the palace! Keep the enemy at bay!"

Just then, he and the two guards accompanying him felt a presence rush behind them like the wind. Before they could turn and look, the two guards were felled with two invisible slashes, and before Shining Armor himself could be felled with the third strike, he turned upon his heels and countered the attack with his sword.

He found himself bearing his sword against the two claws of the giant mantis, Slash, who gazed at him through slit eyes.

"Fancy the Captain of the Royal Guard to hold his own against a formidable foe such as myself," the mantis said through a crooked grin.

Shining Armor shoved Slash back, and in one swift movement, plunged his sword into the mantis' chest.

He grinned at his victory, but his grin turned into a frown as the mantis disappeared into purple smoke with a log taking his place.

Before he could react to how his sword sliced through wood rather than flesh, Shining Armor received a harsh blow to the back of the head. He fell face down unconscious upon the battlement.

Behind him stood Slash, who had struck the royal guard out cold with the back of his claw.

"But I'm afraid I am far more formidable a foe to hold my own against a captain such as yourself," Slash replied.

He bent down and placed his claw against Shining Armor's neck, holding it right above the jugular vein. One slash, and Shining Armor would be done for.

"You shall pass having fought honorably for your country," Slash whispered.

Before he could make the fatal move, Slash noticed something in the corner of his eye.

From where he stood atop the battlement, he gazed toward the ground below and saw as Ninja Star and Fluttershy were cornered by a gang of shadow ponies within the royal gardens.

Slash removed his claw from Shining Armor's neck and returned to his feet.

"Consider yourself lucky," he said before leaping away off the wall, leaving behind an unconscious Shining Armor to lie among the felled bodies of his men.

* * *

Fluttershy and Ninja Star found themselves cornered by at least five shadow ponies. Ninja Star drew his katana as Fluttershy cowered behind him.

Before any of the shadow ponies could strike, they were attacked by the animals within the garden. The birds flew around their heads and pecked at them, while the smaller animals pounced upon their legs and sank their teeth deep into their flesh.

The shadow ponies struggled furiously to fight off and swat away the offending animals. This caused them to become too distracted to notice Ninja Star rush toward them with his katana raised.

In a single swift movement, he raced along the shadow ponies and struck them with his sword, being careful not to harm the animals, and causing the ponies to disappear into purple smoke.

As Ninja Star vanquished the last shadow pony and seethed his sword, he received cheers of adoration from the animals, with Fluttershy beaming in delight.

Ninja Star soon felt a presence behind him. Turning to see Slash pounce down upon him from above, he drew his sword just in time to counter the attack. The force of Slash's landing forced him to fall upon his back, but with his hind hooves, he managed to shove off the attacking mantis.

Slash returned to his feet and brandished his claws before him as Ninja Star likewise brandished his katana.

Before either could attack, the animals once more pounced toward the intruder from either direction—however, unlike his shadow pony minions, Slash would not have himself be so easily defeated by mere woodland creatures.

With a single swipe of his metal claws, he whirled around in a complete circle, striking down the approaching birds.

As a mess of feathers fell to the ground, the other animals stopped dead in their tracks, and in terrified shrieks, retreated into the safety of the bushes.

Slash cackled. "Unlike my underlings, I will not be so easily defeated by mere woodland creatures."

Fluttershy could only gape in silent horror as she saw what used to be birds lying at Slash's feet. Shock soon turned to disgust, and disgust turned into indignant rage. With her face reddening at the wrongful deaths of the animals, she furrowed her brow and grit her teeth.

"How dare you," she whispered, before yelling, "HOW DARE YOU!"

From under her dress she whipped out her kendo stick and launched herself toward Slash, who shielded himself from her onslaught with his claws.

"Attacking ponies is one thing," she yelled. "But I will not stand by while you kill—"

She struck his claws once more with her stick, and subsequently attacked with every other word. "poor—defenseless—animals!"

In a single shriek, she began wailing on Slash, only for him to deflect each and every one of her attacks.

Tiring of the futile barrage by the yellow pegasus, Slash swiped both claws at her, forcing her to fall and summersault back several times before landing on her rump.

By the time Fluttershy shook the dizziness out of her head, she could only watch as Slash leapt toward her with claws raised over his head.

She turned her head away, awaiting his inevitable attack; but before Slash could land upon her, Ninja Star intercepted and deflected the attack.

Both the mantis and ninja pony stood their ground, each with their blade clashed against the other's.

Fluttershy blushed as she watched Ninja Star standing in front of her to protect her. To her, he almost seemed like a knight—or rather, in his case, a samurai—fighting for her honor

Slash grimaced. "Looks like you managed stop me from taking the life of yet another female companion of yours. Too bad you were not this quick to save the other two mares back in your homeland."

Ninja Star clenched his teeth in frustration.

"DEMON!" he yelled before raising his sword to strike, only to be parried by Slash.

The two exchanged a series of blows, each countering the other's attack, until Ninja Star parried Slash's attack and kicked him away with his hind hooves.

Slash stumbled backwards a few feet, but did not fall. He was about to rush forward when he was stopped by a cry from above him.

He turned his gaze to the sky and saw as Philomena rushed toward him from above. He raised his sword, preparing to deflect the attack, but only watched as the phoenix flew around him in a complete circle.

As she did so, she touched the tip of her fiery wing on the ground, causing fire to spring up as she circled the mantis, encircling him and trapping him within a ring of fire.

Slash could only watch as he stood trapped within the fiery circle. The flames that encircled him soon rushed inward, and in a single burst, engulfed him before being snuffed out in an instant, leaving behind a circle of burned grass and ash with no Slash to be found.

Ninja Star returned his sword to his scabbard. Fluttershy stood to rush by his side. Both of them examined the blackened circle.

"Is he—" Fluttershy asked, only to be interrupted by Ninja Star with a—

"No! He would not be that easily defeated. I feel this is not our last confrontation."

* * *

Within the ballroom, Gala guests scrambled here and there as they were chased and terrorized by the shadow ponies. While a few guests were able to hold their own and fight back, others were left defenseless by the onslaught, forced to either duck underneath tables or find safety in numbers.

One unfortunate stallion with a well-kept blonde mane found himself cowering against a pillar as three shadow ponies cornered him.

He fell to his knees and shielded his face as the three paced toward him. "Get back, you curs! My aunts will have your heads if you touch one hair of my glorious golden mane."

He buried his head into his lap with both hooves over his head as the three shadow ponies leapt to pounce upon him.

Before any one of them could touch him, they were intercepted by a white and orange blur that promptly kicked them away.

When Prince Blueblood opened his eyes and looked up, he saw that it was Applejack and Rarity that had come to his rescue.

Upon Rarity's shoulders rode Spike. As the shadow ponies picked themselves up, the baby dragon took a single leap, and with three puffs of breath, launched three fire balls at each pony, enveloping them in flame before they disappeared into purple smoke puffs.

Spike landed upon his feet and struck a pose alongside Apple Jack and Rarity.

"Spike uses fire blast," he boasted. "It's super effective."

The Prince could only remain seated with his mouth hanging agape as he gazed upon his three saviors, one of which being a previous Gala escort that he had snubbed.

Rarity glanced upon him. "What's the matter, prince? Afraid to get dirty?"

In another part of the ballroom, three other shadow ponies were about to pounce upon another pony. Unfortunately for them, this pony was pink and packing heat—specifically, a cannon. A party cannon!

With her party cannon in hand, Pinkie shot three blasts of confetti at the shadow ponies, causing them to disappear into purple clouds upon impact.

Pinkie Pie blew away the smoke rising from her party cannon. "Party cannon: never leave home without it."

On the concert stage, Octavia and her bandmates were cowering in the back and shielding themselves with their instruments. Just then, a blue-haired unicorn sporting a hot pair of shades strode on stage. She pushed forward a pair of speakers that she aimed at the crowd.

Pinkie Pie took notice of her and began motioning to everyone in the room. "All right, every pony, take a seat! She's got this!"

Apple Jack and Rarity could only raise an eyebrow.

"And who and what, pray tell, is that?" Rarity inquired.

"Oh, it's no pony special," Pinkie nonchalantly replied. "It's just Vinyl Scratch and her—BASS CANNON!"

Vinyl Scratch punched a button on her speakers, causing them to open and reveal a larger speaker glowing blue and reverberating with an electronic beat.

As it glowed its brightest, the speaker released a blast of blue light that filled the entire room with a reverberating techno beat, knocking away everything in sight, including the shadow ponies, all whom disappeared into purple smoke clouds.

As the light and music subsided, the ballroom appeared in shambles from the impact. Curtains were rent, tables were overturned, and a large black streak appeared along the floor where the bass cannon was unleashed.

All of the guests had been knocked to the floor with their appeal messed up. This included Rarity, Apple Jack, and Pinkie—whose hair was as frizzled as the day she first gazed upon the Sonic Rainboom that gave her her cutie mark.

"Woot!" she cheered. "DJ Pon-3 to the rescue!"

Vinyl Scratch grinned, raised one lens of her sunglasses to reveal her red eye, and winked.

Rarity and Apple Jack brushed the dust off of their dresses.

"C'mon, ya'll!" Apple Jack motioned to Rarity and Pinkie. "We have to get to the princesses and get those there Elements of Harmony. It's the only way we can send those Shadow Clan goons home packing."

* * *

Both Xander and Squish stared each other down for a single minute, each one refusing to budge as one kept their eye close on the other.

It was then that Xander decided to strike. His horn glowed with blue magic as a ball of electricity began to form at its tip.

When the ball grew to the size of a basketball, he released it with his magic and sent it flying toward Squish, who only absorbed the energy into his staff's gem.

Squish spun around once, and whipping forward his staff, sent a bolt of electricity flying toward Xander.

The unicorn dodged the attack as the bolt struck the ground underneath him and smoldered it black with ash.

As Xander landed on the ground, he was forced to sprint forward as he received a barrage of energy blasts that fired from Squish's staff rapid fire like a grappling gun.

Xander outraced the attack as it lingered behind him, but it eventually began to catch up. Before he could be struck, he stomped onto the ground, causing a wall of stone to rise up in front of him and deflect the attacks.

Squish continued to fire at the stone wall, chipping away at it with each and every blast, almost like a sculptor chipping away at a block of stone. His onslaught caused the wall to fissure in half and break apart into rubble.

Xander noticed that he was standing only few feet away from one of the water fountains. With his horn glowing once again, he used his magic to lift water right out of the basin, and as it rose from out of the fountain, the water formed as single stream that froze instantaneously, solidifying it into a spear of ice.

Xander flung this spear straight at Squish, forcing him to dodge the attack by falling to the ground below.

Squish landed onto the ground gracefully upon his knees with one hand on the ground and the other resting his staff at his side.

As he stood, he noticed a shadow beginning to form underneath him. He turned to see that he was standing right behind another fountain, from which rose water like a tidal wave ready to crash down upon him.

He escaped the crashing wave with a leap forward, the water barely soaking his feet as it crept up behind him like a rolling tide, with the foam licking his heels.

As he landed, he felt his feet begin to sink into the ground, almost as if he had landed into soft sand, but it soon became apparent that he was sinking quickly as though it were quick sand.

Squish had fallen waist down into the earth before he began to react, but try as he might, he could not pry himself free, but only sunk further to his armits, then to his chin, and finally to the tip of his head. The kappa was buried into the earth below.

Xander stood and grinned at what he considered to be his victory.

As he turned to return to the palace, he felt tremors vibrating underneath his hooves. As the tremors increased, he leapt forward, evading as the earth exploded underneath his feet.

Squish flew out of the ground like a cork from a wine bottle and twirled in the air like a drill head, almost as if he had drilled his way out of the earth.

As gravity took hold of him, Squish flung his staff over his head, preparing to strike as he fell toward Xander.

The colt stomped his fore hooves on the ground, causing a magic circle to glow underneath him. From it arose a pole staff with a pointed edge on one end and a furling ribbon on the other.

Before the kappa wizard could strike him with his staff, the unicorn colt deflected the attack with his own staff.

The two foes stood apart from one another, their weapon of choice clashed against the other. Both pushed against the other with equal weight, until Xander gave a single shove and swung his staff at the kappa.

Both clashed staff against staff in a series of blows, each one deflected by the other. Xander seemed to have the upper hand as he drove Squish backward.

As the two continued to deal blow after blow, Squish found himself backed up against the fountain from which Xander had created the wave, the tiled floor underneath them still wet from the attack.

Xander positioned the staff at his side and drove it forward like a spear. Squish would have been harpooned like a squid had he not cartwheeled away from the attack.

Returning to his feet, the kappa wizard struck his staff against the ground, and with his magic, caused the water soaking it to freeze solid in a single second.

Xander found that his hooves were frozen to the ground. He struggled to move, but failed to release himself from his icy restraints.

Squish leapt into the air and whipped his staff toward the ground, unleashing another lightning bolt attack as he did before.

The electricity surged through the ice and up through Xander like a lightning rod. Xander shrieked from his sudden electrocution, with his frozen hooves preventing him from fleeing.

The electricity had subsided once Squish had landed on the ground, allowing him to remain unharmed. Xander was not so fortunate. He could barely stand, with sparks continuing to flicker along his body.

Xander wheezed painfully as he attempted to breathe. "How—how are you able to counter all of my moves so easily?"

Squish chortled as he approached the stallion. "Well let's just say that—" In a single puff of purple smoke, he transformed into LaRousse, including his voice. "—I learned them the last time we faced off."

Xander's eyes widened. "You? You were LaRousse during our wizard's duel?"

Squish smirked. "Oh, but that's not all. While we're on the subject—" He transformed once more, this time into a dirt brown stallion with a scar across his right eye. "Do you remember me?"

Xander gasped, recognizing the dark figure, the same one who had broken into his home and killed his father before his eyes as a young colt.

"You!" Xander would have pounced upon Squish had his hooves had not been restrained by ice. "You're the one who killed my father! You're the reason I've been alone all my life!"

Squish snickered, transforming back into his original form and chortling uncontrollably, forcing Xander to grit his teeth.

"Me?" Squish asked, ceasing his laughter. "I'm the one who forced you to be alone? I may have killed your father, but I wasn't the one who forced you to be alone all your life. You seemed to have done a good enough job of doing that on your own. You're the one who refused to associate yourself with anyone else—"

Squish transformed one last time, this time, into a form that made Xander's heart sink even further into his chest: Twilight Sparkle.

"—even when they offered their assistance. Face it, Xander, you remain alone because you choose to be that way, not because I forced you to."

Xander growled as the ice underneath his feet began to glow red, melting away and setting himself free.

Upon freeing himself, he leapt to pounce upon Squish, who quickly transformed back into his original form, spun out of the way of Xander's attack, and knocked him down with his staff.

As Xander fell flat on the icy cold ground, Squish walked up to him and grabbed him by the mane, pulling him up to eye level.

"Don't get mad at me for telling the truth," Squish told him. "You've said it yourself: you don't need anyone's help. That's why you put on this loner persona, isolating yourself from the rest of the world, refusing to accept anyone's help."

Squish dropped Xander, causing him to collapse on the ground. Both the fighting and the electricity had drained the colt of his energy, making him unable to move.

The kappa wizard began to walk away. "You insist on helping yourself? By all means, be my guest."

As the wizard strolled away toward the palace, Xander began to painfully pick himself up. His knees trembled as his legs could barely support his weight, but he managed to stand. He faced the wizard walking away from him, his horn glowing with blue magic.

Xander sent a blue magic beam flying toward the kappa, who disappeared in a puff of purple smoke before the attack could strike him, leaving Xander along to heave with heavy breath.

* * *

Circling the palace skies were a swarm of shadow pegasi. The swarm were soon intercepted by an orange and blue blur. The orange blur flew in one direction; the blue blur in another. Each blur intercepted the shadow ponies, targeting them one by one, crashing into them and making them dissipate into purple smoke.

After more than a dozen shadow ponies had fallen, the two blurs united and flew alongside one another. Who else could they be other than Spitfire and Soarin, the two most prominent members of Equestria's own elite flying team, the Wonderbolts?

As the two flew alongside one another, they were joined by two shadow pegasi flying on either side. The shadow pegasi flew parallel the two Wonderbolts before barrelrolling into them. Before either of the Wonderbolts could be struck, they rose above the attack, and in a quick rush forward, swirled around to roundhouse kick the two shadow pegasi, forcing them to explode into purple smoke and disappear.

The two Wonderbolts hovered in midair to admire their own feat.

"Tempest Twister!" a voice cried out.

Before either of the Wonderbolts could turn around, they were struck by a sudden gust of air that knocked them off their guard and sent them plummeting toward the ground.

Fortunately for them, they were caught by Rainbow Dash and Sky Wind before either could continue their plummet downward to their fate.

Dash held onto Spitfire, and Skywind onto Soarin. The Wonderbolts were not injured, but they were clearly braised by the attack.

"Are you okay?" Dash asked as she held onto Spitfire.

The fiery orange-maned pegasus groaned in response. "Nothing too serious, but that attack left me sore."

Dash released her idol, allowing her to hover slightly in midair. "You stand back and let us handle the rest."

The rainbow-maned pegasi glared at the shadow pegasi hovering above the palace skies.

"Y'know, all I wanted to do was spend the evening with my favorite flying team, and these shadow goons had to fly in and ruin everything."

In a single motion, Dash ripped off her dress and tossed it aside, revealing her natural blue coat. "C'mon, Sky Wind, let's send these bird brains flying south for the winter."

Sky Wind set aside Soarin and tossed aside his suit as he rushed to catch up with Dash. "How do you suggest we do that? It's two of us and—way too many of them? We're outnumbered!"

Dash grabbed Sky Wind by the hoof, causing him to blush, as they flew along. "Just follow my lead."

She pulled her male counterpart to the highest altitude they could climb to, barely reaching the black clouds above them. As they dove to make their descent, Dash veered to the left and began circling in that direction.

The two flew around in a complete circle, flying faster and faster until they created their own wind. This wind of theirs gained momentum and formed to create a whirlwind, one whose opening faced downward, creating a vortex that began sucking everything into it like a black hole.

At first, the vortex mostly collected loose debris, but soon, it began to suck in the remaining shadow pegasi. Try as they might, the ponies could not escape the draft of this upside-down tornado, and they found themselves being flung upward into it like dust into a vacuum cleaner.

When the last shadow pegasi had been drawn into the vortex, both Dash and Sky Wind ceased their flight, and did an about face to fly in the opposite direction. As they reached breakneck speeds, their flying caused their tornado to slow down and inevitably dissipate.

Upon seeing that the palace skies had been cleared of all shadow pegasi, Dash gave a cheer.

"Now that's how you put a tornado to good use!" Dash exclaimed.

Sky Wind chuckled. "I guess it must really SUCK to be them."

Dash laughed in response. She was so busy laughing that she did not notice a black blur ramming into her.

"Rainbow!" Sky Wind exclaimed.

Dash was driven toward the ground by the black blur, to the point where she gained enough momentum to plummet to the earth on her own.

Crashing into the ground, she bounced one, two, three times before eventually skidding across what appeared to be the palace gardens where Fluttershy and Ninja Star had since vacated.

The black blur had stopped to hover in midair, revealing himself to be Swoosh, who chuckled to himself in amusement.

"This'll take care of yahs!" He dove to the ground in a twirling motion.

"Twister Drill!" He exclaimed as the air around him began to glow with a purple aura. As he twisted in midair, the purple aura around him likewise twisted as a drill head, one that descended upon an unconscious Rainbow Dash, lying flat like a plank of wood.

Before Swoosh could crash into Rainbow Dash, he was intercepted by a purple blur, and in a single strike, was sent flying in the opposite direction, crashing one, two, three times across the ground before stopping.

As he picked himself up, he saw standing across from him Sky Wind, his teeth clenched, his back arched, and his wings extended as he stood in front of Rainbow Dash guarding her.

"You won't touch one feather on her body," the purple pegasus yelled.

The tengu forced himself to stand upright and brushed some dirt from off of his face. "Heh, I sees that youse is as agile as ever. Nice to knows that I trains yahs good, Sky Wind."

Sky Wind's expression of anger shifted to that of confusion. "W-what are you talking about?"

Swoosh shrugged his shoulder and cupped his claws upward.

"Don't tells me yous forgot the same personal flying coach whose trained yah since you was a flightless little foal, Sky Wind," he said with a chuckle. "That hurts big time, ya know what I'm sayin?"

Sky Wind furrowed his eyebrows in anger once more. "No, I don't! What the heck are you talking about, and how do you know my name?"

"I'm sure that should have been made apparent to you by now, my son," said a voice in the distance.

Sky Wind turned to see a tall slender mare entering the garden.

* * *

Twilight rushed down the hallway as fast as her hooves could carry her. Before she could continue on, a bright light blinded her and forced her to stop. Upon opening her eyes, she saw Xander standing right before her.

"Twilight, give me the amulet!" he told her. "I'll take it to Princess Celestia. You get out of here."

"Xander?" Twilight asked, startled and confused, taking a few steps back. "But how—"

"There's not enough time!" Xander said, "Give me the amulet!"

"But how did you defeat Squish so quickly?" She asked before raising a skeptical eyebrow. "And why would I give it to you when you're the one who told me to give it to Celestia in the first place?"

Xander then scrunched his face in frustration, and in a purple puff of smoke, transformed into Squish.

"Well, I guess you can't fool all the ponies all the time," he raised his staff towards Twilight, who gasped in horror.

* * *

The Shadow Mare stood at the foot of the palace doors and across from Sky Wind within the royal gardens, standing over the body of Rainbow Dash as Swoosh stood opposite of them.

Her figure was mostly shrouded in the shadow looming overhead, but as she stepped forward, what little light there was revealed her figure more clearly.

Her mane flowed behind her like wisps of smoke, its color matching the same purple hue of her body, almost as if she were made of pure shadow. Her tall slender legs were clad with metal arm bands and wrapped in dark bandages all the way to her hind shins. She wore a long pale scarf that wrapped around her chest, up along her neck, and all the way to the bottom of her face, concealing her mouth and revealing only her ears and glowing red eyes.

Sky Wind soon realized that he had seen those same red eyes before. He had seen them staring back at him in his visions whenever he tried to remember his lost memories. They were the same glowing red eyes he had seen staring back at him whenever he looked upon the amulet. And now, these red eyes looked upon him as the mare who owned them slowly approached him from afar.

"You!" he exclaimed. "You're the mare from my visions. Who are you?"

The mare's eyes shifted from a glare to a twinkle, revealing that she was grinning underneath her bandana.

"I think the real question you want answered is, who are you, Sky Wind?" The mare continued pacing toward the now frightened pegasus.

"I'm sure by now you're dying to know about your lost memories, but I'm sure many other questions have been plaguing you. For instance, has it not struck you as odd that the Shadow Clan began attacking Ponyville around the time of your own arrival, the exact same time that you lost your memory?"

Sky Wind shuddered as the mare inched closer and closer to him, but yet he remained steadfast, not wanting to abandon Rainbow Dash.

"I assure you it was no accident, and neither was your amnesia," The mare told him. "It was all planned out."

The Shadow Mare now stood looming over Sky Wind, who cowered in her presence, but continued to maintain his valiant demeanor, no matter how much his trembling knees revealed otherwise.

"You were brought here for a purpose, my dear Sky Wind," the mare told him as her horn began glowing with a red aura. "Would you like me to show what that purpose is?"

Before Sky Wind could answer, the mare had placed her horn upon his forehead. In a single flash, a red searing heat penetrated his skull like a warm knife, causing every fiber within his brain to burn. A sudden surge pulsed from the mare's horn into his brain, forcing him to recall memories without him actually thinking about them. The last time he had felt such a sensation was when both Twilight and Xander tried to regain his lost memories. He cried out in pain as his eyes glowed in a flash of red light, and all he could see was white.

* * *

Within the moonlit throne room, Sky Wind stood opposite the Shadow Mare as she gazed down upon him from atop her dais. Nearby, Squish tended to a bubbling cauldron as Swoosh and Slash surrounded it and peered inside.

The Shadow Mare paced toward her son. "You understand your mission, Sky Wind?"

Sky Wind bowed his head with eyes closed. "Yes, mother. I will go down to Ponyville and befriend the Princess' protégé and her friends. That way, we can better monitor their activity."

The Shadow Mare approached him. "Yes, and to ensure that we learn everything about them—"

Her horn began to glow with red magic as she gently placed it upon Sky Wind's temple. "This surveillance spell will allow us to see and hear everything that you do. Your eyes will be our eyes, and your ears, our ears."

Once the Shadow Mare lifted her horn from off of his head, Sky Wind lifted his own head and opened his eyes to reveal that they were glowing red.

Over at the cauldron, Swoosh and the other two minions watched the surface of the water as it began to shimmer and glow red, eventually revealing the face of the Shadow Mare as Sky Wind saw it. The cauldron allowed them to see everything through Sky Wind's eyes and hear everything that he heard, just as the Shadow Mare had said it would.

"One more thing," the Shadow Mare said, "for your mission to succeed, it is imperative that the others never learn your true identity, and while I can entrust you to remain secret, we must take special precautions."

Sky Wind frowned. "What do you propose?"

The Shadow Mare's horn began to glow red once more. "I must place a memory removal spell upon you and wipe your mind clean of all previous memories."

Sky Wind hesitated. "But then how—"

Before he could say anything else, he was smacked in the head by the Shadow Mare's horn, the impact of which caused his head to surge with magical energy, and him to cry out in pain.

"The surveillance spell will still allow us to see and hear everything, and Squish and the others will be sure to check on your whereabouts during their own missions to Ponyville," the Shadow Mare assured him as he continued to writher in pain from the energy surging from her horn. "And as for you, the ponies down in Ponyville are more than willing to aid any other pony in need—"

Within a few seconds, Sky Wind's eyes burst with a sudden white light, and he fell limp to the floor unconscious.

The Shadow Mare smirked as she gazed down upon her unconscious son. "Especially one suffering from amnesia. You are sure to draw the Princess' most faithful students and her friends to your aid."

With that, her horn once again glowed red.

Behind Sky Wind appeared a black portal like a whirlwind. With one flap of her wings, the Shadow Mare sent him flying away into it. The portal then closed with a crash like thunder.

* * *

The Shadow Mare pulled back her horn from off Sky Wind's forehead.

"Do you remember who you are, Sky Wind?" she asked him.

Sky Wind twinged as the pounding within his head subsided. His frown of pain soon turned upward into a devilish grin, as he lifted his head and opened his eyes to gaze at his mother.

"Indeed, I do, mother," he replied.

He received a hardy smack on the back from Swoosh.

"Goods to has you back, Sky Wind," the tengu told him, wrapping his arm around his shoulder.

"And good to see that my mission has proven successful," Sky Wind replied.

"Not quite," the Shadow Mare said. "There is still much more for us to do before we can usher in your father's arrival. We must make haste and obtain the final pieces of our plan."

As the three talked amongst themselves, Rainbow Dash began to rouse from her unconsciousness. She groaned as she painfully lifted her head and opened her eyes. Her vision was extremely blurry, but she could make out Sky Wind's figure among that of the Shadow Mare and Swoosh.

"S-Sky Wind," she uttered through breathe that she forced from her lungs, her strength still too weak for her to breathe.

As her vision cleared, she could see as Sky Wind disappeared with the other two into purple smoke. This sudden occurrence forced her to wake to her full senses as shock resonated throughout her entire being. She leapt from off of the ground and stood to her feet.

"Sky Wind!" she exclaimed as she rushed to where the pegasus last stood. From where she stood, she frantically looked in every direction in search for any trace of him, but not a single one she could find.

"Rainbow!" she heard someone call out from behind her.

She turned to discover the voice was that of Apple Jack, who rushed up toward her, along with Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Spike, Fluttershy, and Ninja Star.

"Are you alright?" the cowpony asked her. "You look more beaten up than a hen that barely made it through a fox house."

"I'm fine, but Sky Wind isn't," Rainbow Dash replied. "Those Shadow Goons had taken him."

* * *

Princess Celestia and Luna ran down a long corridor until they reached the vault where the Elements of Harmony were stored. Celestia lit her horn and stuck it into the keyhole until a clicking sound was heard.

Upon removing her horn, the doors opened to reveal the case in which the Elements were kept. The case glowed with an indigo aura as Luna levitated it with her magic, and opened it to reveal the Elements sparkling within.

"Princesses!" yelled a voice from behind them.

The two turned to see Twilight Sparkle coming down the corridor. She was heaving, clearly out of breath, with sweat rolling down her forehead.

"I ran as fast as I could in order to find you," she said through panting breath. "The palace is under siege. You're all in great danger."

"Indeed!" Celestia nodded. "But more so the Elements of Harmony."

Celestia retrieved the case with her magic and hovered them over to Twilight. "They're not safe here. You must take them and leave the palace immediately."

Twilight accepted the case with her magic.

"You might as well hand them over to me," said another voice from behind her.

Twilight turned to see the Shadow Mare strutting down the corridor with Slash, Swoosh, and Sky Wind by her immediately rushed in between the princesses for safety.

"Shadow Mare," Celestia said with furrowed brow.

"Celestia! Luna!" replied the Shadow Mare, feigning a happy voice, "It's been so long, and yet I'm afraid that I'm short on time to catch up with old memories. So if you may, I'll be taking the Elements of Harmony and that Amulet."

"The intruders!" yelled a voice from behind her. "We must not let them near the princesses!"

The Shadow Mare turned to see two lines of royal guards charging towards her.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I have no time for this." She flicked her hooves forward. "Take care of them!"

"Our pleasure!" Slash hissed as he charged toward the first line of guards. Without missing a single beat, he struck down each and every guard that he passed until they had all fallen.

Swoosh leapt forward toward the other line of encroaching guards.

"Tempest Twister!" he yelled, raising his staff in one hand and pointing to the sky with another.

With a mighty flap of his wings, he sent a gust of wind towards the other guards, knocking them over like a line of dominos.

The hallway lay before them littered with the bodies of fallen royal guards, all moaning in pain as they lay injured and wounded.

The Shadow Mare turned her attention back to the two princesses and smirked.

"Twilight!" Celestia exclaimed, standing her ground in a fighting stance. "Take the Elements and flee! You can escape—"

She turned to face Twilight, who stared back at her with an evil grin. Her horn glowed purple, and from it emitted a plume of blue smoke with overtook Celestia and Luna. The two princesses began to choke before falling to the ground unconscious.

Twilight disappeared in a puff of smoke, and in her place was Squish, now holding the case and wearing the amulet.

"Fooled you!" he said.

At that moment, the real Twilight Sparkle, the other five ponies, Spike, Xander, and Ninja Star came galloping down the corridor, only to halt as they saw Slash and Swoosh each carrying one of the princesses over their shoulder.

"Princess Celestia! Luna!" Twilight gasped.

"Gaze upon your beloved rulers," the Shadow Mare announced. "For this shall be the last time you ever see them again. Very soon, your new sovereign shall be the Black Stallion!"

She began cackling maniacally as she, her three minions, and Sky Wind vanished along with the princesses in a cloud of purple smoke.

Dread filled Twilight and the others as they realized the severity of what had just happened and what was about to occur.

* * *

_**Twilight:**__ Oh no! This is terrible! The princesses have been captured!_

_**Fluttershy:**__ The Amulet and Elements of Harmony, too!_

_**Rainbow Dash:**__ And they have Sky Wind!_

_**Xander:**__ I don't know. It seemed that Sky Wind was awfully eager to go off with them._

_**Dash:**__ Hey, what are you trying to say? That Sky Wind is in cahoots with them? He can't be, he just can't!_

_**Twilight:**__ That doesn't matter right now. We need to go and rescue the princesses._

_**Shadow Mare:**__ Don't get your hopes up. Your princesses will be no more, and the Dark Stallion will take their place as the rightful ruler of Equestria._

_**Twilight:**__ Next time on My Little Pony, "The Dark Stallion Returns! Elements of Harmony Unite." Who is this Dark Stallion anyway?_

* * *

**My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and characters © Hasbro and Lauren Faust**  
**Xander © Me**  
**Skywind © ex626AKAKeon**  
**Ninja Star © ninjaninjanoob23**

**Voice Credits**

**Twilight Sparkle ...Tara Strong**  
**Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy...Andrea Libman**  
**Applejack, Rainbow Dash...Ashleigh Ball**  
**Rarity, Princess Luna...Tabitha St. Germain**  
**Princess Celestia...Nicole Oliver**  
**Spike...Cathy Weseluck**  
**Xander...Vic Mignogna**  
**Sky Wind...Antony Del Rio**  
**Ninja Star...Dave Wittenberg**  
**Squish...Samuel Vincent**  
**Swoosh...Derek Stephen Prince**  
**Slash...Roger Labon Jackson**  
**Shadow Mare...Susanne Blakeslee**  
**Dark Stallion...Ron Perlman**


	10. Episode 10

**_My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_**** presents**

_**The Dark Stallion**_

**Episode 10: ****_The Princesses Fall! The Dark Stallion Returns!_**

* * *

Last time on _My Little Pony_:

_Twilight Sparkle and her friends found themselves forced to fend themselves against the Shadow Clan when it crashed the Grand Galloping Gala. As much of a fight as they put up, their victories came bittersweet. Ninja Star managed to fight off Slash, but just barely. Xander had his Amulet stolen by Squish, who revealed himself to have killed Xander's father. And Sky Wind was accosted by the Shadow Mare. She returned his lost memories to him, revealing himself to be her son sent to infiltrate the other ponies and monitor their activities for the Clan. But the biggest loss that evening came with the princesses, who, along with the Elements of Harmony, were captured. What sinister motives does the Shadow Clan possibly have for the Princesses, Elements, and Amulet?_

* * *

**Thousands of Years in the Past**

The horizon glowed orange as the setting sun peeked from behind the bordering mountains. Through its tangerine tint, fading slowly to indigo like a dying gasoline flame, faintly shone the stars as they began to appear within the encroaching night sky.

Within the light of the waning sunset stood five ponies atop the battlement of Union Tower, overlooking the lush scenery of the surrounding valley below.

Of these five ponies, three stood within a blue circle freshly painted upon the battlement's cobblestone floor. The regalia of these three ponies signified their high-ranking status.

One pony was a lavender unicorn with long, sleek silver hair, upon which sat an equally silver crown embedded with purple gemstones. If her crown and demeanor did not reveal that she was of royalty, then her flowing indigo cape attached with an amethyst broach did.

The other pony was a scarlet pegasus with a spiky black mane hidden within her Spartan helmet, its golden iron metal matching that of her plate armor, emblazon with a lightning bolt insignia upon her breastplate.

The last pony was a caramel earth pony with a dark chocolate mane twisted into a ponytail, fluffy as chocolate mousse. Her hat almost made it appear as though she was balancing a bowl of butterscotch pudding upon her head. The rest of her costume consisted of an apron-like dress, making her appear more like a chef and less like the elected leader of her tribe.

Indeed, all three of these ponies were the respective leaders of all three pony tribes: Princess Platinum of the Unicorns, Commander Hurricane of the Pegasi, and Chancellor Puddinghead of the Earth Ponies.

As these three ponies stood steadfast in their respective stations, another pony—an ivory unicorn with a messy green mane, and garbed in a lowly burlap cloak—was nearly finished painting the circle in which they stood. Being the apprentice of the most acknowledged wizard of the known world, it only seemed appropriate that Clover the Clever would be tasked with painting this magic circle.

Standing nearby to supervise her task was that very wizard himself, Starswirl the Bearded. True to his very name, his white beard swirled like the starry arm of the Milky Way galaxy itself, shining in contrast to his gray coat as pale as the dusk. The only other color on him was his blue hat and cloak, sewn with golden bells and stars.

With the final stroke of her brush, Clover finished painting the circle.

"The circle is complete, Master Swirlbeard," the apprentice told her mentor.

Swirlbeard nodded. "Then we shall start the ritual at once while we still have sunlight."

He rose upon his hind legs and lifted his forehooves in the air, facing the three royals. "When I give the instruction, each pony shall perform their part of the ritual. This spell will require every pony's cooperation if it is to be performed properly."

With that, he shut his eyes, and his horn glowed with cyan magic. As his horn began to glow, so too did the magic circle in which the three other ponies stood.

"Unicorn magic," his voice boomed.

With those words spoken, Princess Platinum cast her own horn aglow with her indigo magic.

"Pegasus flight."

From her wing, Commander Hurricane pulled forth a single scarlet feather with her teeth.

"The sweat of the brow of the Earth pony's plight."

With a swipe of her forehead, Chancellor Puddinghead collected several drops of sweat with her hoof.

The blue magic of the circle glowed brighter as the vanishing sun further darkened the night sky. As the light of the circle intensified, the items from each of the three ponies—Platinum's magic light, Hurricane's feather, and Puddinghead's sweat—began to gravitate towards the center and revolve around one another like water in a drain,. Faster and faster they gyrated until they disappeared in a single blue blur.

"When all these three come together in unity."

The blue blur exploded in a flash of light, and in its place revealed—

"So appears the symbol of our purity."

—a crystal clear gem that shone with the radiance of a prism, shining fragments of rainbow upon the ground. The gem was encapsulated within a silver frame and hung by an equally silver chain.

This medallion floated in midair, kept afloat by the blue magic of the circle surrounding it. As the medallion remained afloat, the light from the circle quickly faded, allowing the three ponies to step away from their places and pace towards it. Clover and Starswirl followed suit.

All five ponies approached the medallion and gazed upon with wonder as it floated before their eyes.

As Starswirl approached them, he gestured toward the medallion. "Cast your eyes upon this, my fellow ponies, and gaze upon the symbol of our union—for as this amulet was forged from the magic bestowed in each of you, so shall it serve as a testament to the bond that has been newly-forged among you and your tribes, that the peace borne from it shall forge a new land governed under a new rule, upheld by he or she who bears this amulet and the power invested within it."

Princess Platinum nodded. "Aye, fair Starswirl, but whom, pray tell, shall be this new ruler who bears this amulet, and with it, the rightful rule over this new land, Equestria?"

Before anyone else could reply, Commander Hurricane snatched the amulet from midair and held it within her grasp.

"Clearly the new sovereign must be one with the strength and might to lead a nation as equally strong and mighty. Clearly, the only leader capable of such resolve is me," she gloated, tossing the amulet in the air as if it were a mere coin.

Just as the amulet was flung in the air once more, it became enveloped by an indigo glow and began levitating back toward Princess Platinum.

"Surely, you jest, dear commander," she retorted. "The new leader of this land must have the grace and demeanor to inspire reverence in its citizens, and such grace and demeanor could only be found in a mare as fair as myself."

Suddenly, she felt the amulet plucked out of her hand as Chancellor Puddinghead snatched it for herself, forcing the princess to gasp in indignation.

"Fiddlesticks," she said. "What the ponies of this new land need isn't some pampered princess ruling from high atop her ivory tower, or a brutish warlord lording over them with an iron hoof. What they desire is a regular salt-of-the-earth pony who is as down-to-earth as they are. And who could possibly be more down-to-earth than an earth pony as myself?"

Puddinghead grinned, but elicited only grimaces from her two peers, and it was only seconds until all three were throwing death glances at one another.

Before they could erupt into heated argument, the amulet was seized by pale lavender magic and drawn away from them.

"My lieges, I beseech you, please cease this quarreling at once." Clover hovered the amulet toward herself. "We already agreed to set aside our respective egos for the sake of peace among our tribes and within this new land, and I fear that if you reignite this wrathful cold spell, that your hearts will grow cold once more, and with it, winter will be coming."

The three leaders glanced at one another in embarrassment and recoiled in shame.

Starswirl nodded. "My pupil clearly reveals the wisdom I have bestowed upon her. As an aside, I advise that the rule of the old world make way for the new rule of this new world, with a new ruler to represent the new union among our three tribes."

Clover nodded. "Aye, my liege, but whom, pray tell, do you recommend become this new ruler of our new land?"

Starswirl bowed his head and stroked his beard before turning away from the other four ponies. "I advise that you each elect from the ranks of your own tribes a candidate whom you consider worthy of naming sovereign. We will return in due time and consider our nominations. As for myself, I have two prospects of my own in mind."

* * *

**Present Day**

Slowly, Celestia stirred from her slumber. Her eyes gradually opened, and her blurry vision began to adjust to the minimal lighting of her surroundings, though her pounding forehead made it much harder for her to focus.

At first, her surroundings appeared to be of a hazy crimson tint, before she realized that she was encapsulated within a giant red gem—a crystal prison with her as its prisoner.

Through the red crystal walls in which she was trapped, she could see that she was in a room so void of light that the walls remained invisible within the far off shadows. The only noticeable light was that of the very crystal which imprisoned her. With its faint light, she could see the floor below her.

Below, she could see a giant circle drawn with red paint on the damp stone floor. Within this circle were painted six smaller individual circles, and within each of these circles was one of the Elements of Harmony. All six of these smaller circles were connected to each other and to the main circle with a single line. All six circles revolved around another circle within its center, and within it was placed the Amulet of Purity.

From this magic circle protruded a line that curved into a spiral pattern, and it was above this very pattern that Celestia's crystal prison remained afloat. Across the main circle, she noticed another floating crystal similar to her own and with another spiral pattern drawn underneath it and connected to the main magic circle.

Unlike her own crystal, the crystal floating opposite to her was blue, and within it was confined—

"Luna!" Celestia exclaimed with a raspy voice, still hoarse from her abrupt awakening.

Within the blue crystal, Luna began to stir from her own slumber, and as she opened her own eyes, the first thing she could see was her sister. Before either one princess could address the other—

"Well, well," a sultry voice spoke from within the room. "It seems as our dear princesses have awakened from their naps."

The two princesses turned their attention to where the voice emanated. Approaching them from out of the shadows was the Shadow Mare. By her side was Sky Wind, and behind them were her three henchmen—Squish, Swoosh, and Slash.

Celestia narrowed her eyes with furrowed brow as she glared at her captor. "It looks like we meet again, Shadow Mare."

"It's been a long time, Celestia, Luna." the Shadow Mare paced toward the two princesses in their crystal prisons. "I can't even remember the last time we met."

She hung her head in contemplation before shooting her glace back up in a glare as sharp as a knife at Celestia. "Oh yes, it was when you banished my husband to another dimension!"

* * *

Ponyville remained as calm and quiet as the night itself. The night air was silent, save for the occasionally chirping of crickets, and the night itself was dark with every light in town dimmed, save for the sparkling of stars in the sky above and the twinkling of fireflies in the grass below.

However, the town's serenity merely camouflaged the chaos that had erupted earlier that evening. Though Canterlot Palace had been infiltrated and the princesses kidnapped, word of these disasters remained within Canterlot and had yet to reach the serene hamlet of Ponyville, as most of its citizens either were sound asleep or busy burning the midnight oil.

It was to this serenity that Twilight and her friends arrived after fleeing Canterlot on the next departing train. Upon the disappearance of the two princesses, the palace was left to the care of the royal guards, who ensured to maintain decorum as they secured the palace from any further threats and investigated the whereabouts of the princesses and their captors.

Not wanting to interfere with military affairs, and seeking to escape the chaos in Canterlot for their own safety, the ponies decided to retreat to Ponyville where they took residence inside Twilight's library.

Here, Twilight's friends huddled around a table. Xander stood atop a ladder as he scanned the library shelves, and Ninja Star sat quietly upon the staircase polishing his katana.

All the while, Twilight frantically paced the wooden floor, to the point where she nearly wore a hole in it. "Oh, whatever are we going to do? This is so very, very terrible."

"Ah, don't be so hard on yourself, Twilight," Pinkie Pie chimed. "It's not really as bad as you make it. If you really think about it, the only thing that happened tonight was that a gang of rouge ninja crashed the palace and threw the gala into utter chaos, all while stealing several powerful artifacts and kidnapping the two highest rulers in the land, ensuring inevitable lawless anarchy once every pony in the kingdom learns of their absence and—"

She poked her cheek with her hoof as she thought over what she had just said, all the while remaining oblivious to the angry glares from everyone else in the room. "Actually, now that you think about it, this really is as bad as you make."

Rainbow Dash banged her hoof upon the table. "That's not the only bad thing that happened. Those Shadow Clan thugs also took off with Sky Wind. Who knows what those goons are going to do with him, especially in his current state."

Apple Jack shook her head. "I don't know, sugar cube. Something seemed mighty suspicious about that pony when we found him taking off with Shadow Clan. It didn't seem like they had him restrained or nothing, and for having been allegedly captured by them, he seemed mighty calm about it.

These words provoked Rainbow Dash, who leaned over at the country pony and glared down at her. "What are you getting at?"

"All I'm saying is that, for some pony who was captured by the Shadow Clan, he didn't seem to be bothered by it one bit. In fact, it almost appeared as if he was going along with them willingly."

Rainbow Dash further leaned over toward her. "Are you accusing him of being one of them? How do you possibly know that?"

Apple Jack pushed back at the rainbow-maned pegasus and returned the glare back at her. "How do you possibly know that he isn't? We know absolutely nothing about him on account of his amnesia, and we don't even know if that's real or not. I mean, don't you find mighty suspicious that he dropped into town around the same time the Shadow Clan started attacking. For all we know, he could be working with them."

Dash pushed against Apple Jack and further glared her down. "How dare you accuse Sky Wind of being one of them? He's not. He's just not. I know. I've been with him since he first arrived, and he's far too kind of a soul to be one of them."

Before either mare could chew into the flesh of the other, Twilight rushed in between them and held each one back from the other.

"Enough you two," she told them, forcing them back into their seats. "Regardless of whether or not Sky Wind is one of them, our main priority right now should be to track them down and rescue the Princesses and Elements."

Twilight backed away from the table and began pacing once more. "It would help though if we knew what their motivations were. What could they possibly want with the Princesses, the Elements, and the Amulet of Purity? And what of this Dark Stallion they spoke of? I don't believe I ever heard of him."

"I believe this book may give us a hint," Xander said from atop his ladder before eventually sliding down with book in hand. With the book open, he began flicking a few pages as he approached Twilight. "This is the book which I had obtained what little information there was about the Amulet of Purity. I faintly remember seeing some mention of the Dark Stallion in here, but it must have evaded my memory. It seemed too much like the ancient history you learned in Magic Kindergarten, so I took no real notice of it."

He finished flipping through the pages and jabbed the one page he was looking for. "Here it is."

Twilight leaned over his shoulder as he scanned the contents of the page. "What does it say?

Xander turned to Twilight. "You're familiar with how Celestia and Luna became Princesses of Equestria, correct?"

Twilight nodded. "Of course. It's a history lesson every pony in Magic Kindergarten learns. It happened right after the events of the first Hearts Warming Eve. After the three pony tribes settled in the new land of Equestria, they determined to elect a new ruler from among the three tribes to reign over them. It was later that Celestia and Luna were approached by Starswirl the Bearded and several representatives from each pony tribe to be named as their new princesses."

Xander nodded. "Right, but apparently that's not the whole story."

He turned to gaze at the open page. "According to this, there was another pony who was considered for the role."

* * *

"My husband, the Dark Stallion, had been promised the throne of this new land, but that promise was broken, and you two usurped his rightful place at that throne," Shadow Mare told the two princesses.

"His heart was full of dark intentions," Celestia retorted. "The elders where unaware of the darkness lurking within his heart. They had no choice but to revoke their initial decision and confer the title to more deserving leaders."

"Don't flatter yourselves," Shadow Mare barked back. "Regardless of my husband's intentions, that title was promised to him, and he was willing to do anything in his power to claim what was rightfully his."

* * *

"Says here that the Dark Stallion and his followers rose up in rebellion against the pony tribes to claim the Equestrian throne," Xander read aloud to the other ponies. "Their revolution was inevitably snuffed out by the united armies of the three tribes, but not without costing hundreds of innocent pony lives. The Dark Stallion and his followers were apprehended and tried for treason, and the two princesses used their magic to banish them into everlasting shadow."

"I take it they didn't think about turning him into stone or sending him to the moon," Rainbow Dash interjected.

Apple Jack shrugged her shoulders. "I guess they hadn't thought about it yet, though I have to say it's rather queer that the Princesses didn't have the traitor outright executed."

Twilight shook her head. "The Princesses are far too merciful to resort to such draconian barbarism."

Rainbow Dash scratched her chin. "Though it makes you wonder just how many other evil threats to Equestria the princesses simply 'magiced' out of existence. Next you'll be telling me that the princesses made an entire magic crystal kingdom disappear to get rid of one evil king"

The others merely rolled their eyes at the mention of that idea.

* * *

"Tell me, Celestia," the Shadow Mare said, "Why do you insist on imprisoning or banishing your enemies rather than outright killing them? Nightmare Moon. Discord. King Sombra. Lord Tirek. You and your kingdom could have easily been rid of those threats if you had simply extinguished them once and for all; and yet, you chose not to. Why is that?"

From within her crystal prison, Celestia hung her head with eyes closed before raising both to address her captor.

"Because I know that deep down within even the darkest of hearts exists the smallest glimmer of light, and that no matter how dark that heart is, the light within it has a chance to shine bright if only given the chance."

She turned to gaze upon her sister. "I knew this well when I banished my sister to the moon those many years ago, and though it pained me to do so, it would have pained me even more to have killed her, knowing that she would have never been given the chance to mend her ways. I had given her that chance, and we became reunited once more as sisters rather than adversaries. If my sister can reform, than so can any other dark heart."

The Shadow Mare snickered. "Such weakness."

Celestia shot an angry glare at her. "Showing mercy to thine enemies is not weakness."

Shadow Mare returned the glare. "It is too weakness. Your mercy may have allowed your darling little sister to turn over a new leaf, but not before casting your entire kingdom into eternal night. And what of Discord? Once he broke free of his stone prison, he wreaked havoc on your kingdom by turning it upside-down and inside-out. And yet, even then, you chose to return him to stone once more. What will happen the next time he breaks free? Do you think he will be willing then to change his ways?"

Celestia bowed her head. "I very much think so."

"Foolishness!" Shadow Mare barked. "Such foolishness! Your mercy towards your enemy has been your kingdom's greatest weakness. A kingdom such as your own has no place being ruled by a bleeding heart as yourself. It can only be properly ruled by an iron fist. With strength. With fear, not love."

Shadow Mare turned her back on the princesses, but not without turning her head to face them with a grin that revealed devious intentions. "Fortunately, Equestria will no longer have to suffer under your weak reign. Once more, they will be led by a bold ruler who will reign over them with the strength they've always deserved but never had."

Luna cocked an eyebrow, "And how, pray tell, are you going to bring back the Dark Stallion?"

Swoosh and the other two henchmen approached them.

"What did youse think we was doing with all of this here set up like this?" he asked, motioning to the magic circle with the Amulet and Elements.

Slash pointed to the Amulet within the circle's center. "It was with that very Amulet that you two banished the Dark Stallion, and so, it will be with that same Amulet that we will bring him back."

Swoosh shrugged a shoulder. "Of course, that there Amulet had its magical power or something removed from it and divided among those there six Elements of Harmony, so we's need their power to activate the power of the Amulet once more, you knows what's I'm saying, am I right?"

Squish pointed his staff at Celestia. "And not only do we need the power of the Amulet and Elements for this ritual, we also need the power of the ones who originally banished the Dark Stallion in the first place—by which, of course, we mean you two. Why else did you think we dragged you all the way down here and put you in those crystals?"

Shadow Mare chuckled as she turned to face the princesses once more. "It was you two who banished my husband, and it will be you two who will bring him back. Of course, if this ritual proves successful, I'm afraid it would mean that you two won't be around to witness his glorious return, for, you see, the only way to pull him back from the shadows is to send you two in his place."

Both princesses gasped upon realizing the weight of their situation.

Shadow Mare chuckled. "But don't worry, your departure will not be in vain, for I'm sure that my husband will be more than willing to claim your throne in your absence."

Celestia struggled within her crystal, her horn glowing as she did. "You won't get away with this. My faithful student Twilight and her friends will see to your defeat."

Shadow Mare snickered. "Don't waste your breath or your energy. You won't break free of that crystal, even with all your alicorn magic. Besides, we need every little bit of it to summon my husband from beyond the shadows."

She and the others positioned themselves around the magic circle. She and Sky Wind stood on one side, and the other three henchmen stood opposite to them on the other side.

Celestia ceased her struggling and glanced down at Sky Wind.

"Sky Wind," she called out to him, forcing him to look at her. "Do not follow the evil path laid before you by your mother and father. I have heard of you from Twilight's friendship reports. She has told me how she and the others helped you try to regain your memories, and how you became good friends with them, especially Rainbow Dash. I know that there is some good in you. Please look at the light within you and see past the dark intentions of your parents. Do not emulate their wicked ways. Please, Sky Wind, make the right choice."

All that time, Sky Wind coldly stared at her before returning a sinister grin.

"For a thousand-year-old princess, you sure are slow and dense. That amnesia of mine was merely a ruse to allow me to get close to your student and her friends, and to spy on their every move so that my family could get closer to you. Now that my ruse is over, I don't need them anymore. I only have one choice now: be the heir to my father's new throne."

"Enough," spoke the Shadow Mare. "Time is of the essence, and we must move forward. We must offer these false queens in sacrifice, allow the shadows to take them and extinguish their light, for the night will soon be dark and full of terrors."

She looked at Squish. "Prepare your magic, and combine it with mine to activate the circle."

Squish did as he was instructed and rose his staff on high. As the gem on its tip glowed blue with magic, so too did the Shadow Mare's horn glow with red magic. Soon, the Amulet within the circle began to glow, and as it glowed, it levitated high from off the ground. As it glowed brighter and brighter, the Elements within it began to glow simultaneously.

Soon the entire circle was glowing blood red, with the magic starting its glow near the amulet before passing along the outline to the Elements and the outer rim before traveling all the way to where the two crystals stood.

As the magic glow reached them, their crystals began to glow, each with their own color—with the crystal containing Celestia glowing red, and the one containing Luna glowing blue. As their crystals glowed, both Celestia and Luna's horns began to simultaneously glow, though not through the willful volition of either princess.

Shadow Mare raised her head on high as she looked toward the heavens. "Oh everlasting shadows, release my husband from your bonds, and in his stead, accept these two false queens."

As their crystal prisons glowed, both princesses felt as though ever molecule within their fiber were burning as their magic rushed from out of their horns and into their crystals. To them, it felt as if they were a potato placed in a microwave on the highest setting, as each one felt a burning sensation surging right through their bodies as their magic, and even their own life force, was sapped right out of them. Never had either princess felt such intense pain, and thus, there was nothing else for them to do but writhe and scream in agony.

The Shadow Mare continued her incantation: "Ensure that after this long summer has ended, that darkness falls heavy on the world, the stars bleed, the cold breath of winter freezes the seas, and the kingdom becomes ripe for the Dark Stallion's taking."

In a single, violent scream, both princesses had their entire bodies enveloped in a bright explosion of light, each one matching their own magical aura—with Celestia's white, and Luna's blue. The light filled their crystals with such intensity that both exploded into countless shards, forcing the others to shield themselves from the flying debris.

Both explosions unleashed a surge of raw magical energy that flowed along the outline of the magic circle, reaching the Elements and Amulet, and forcing them to glow even brighter. From where they floated, each of the six Elements unleashed a magical colored beam at the Amulet, and as it received their energy, the Amulet glowed with a blinding white light.

This white light contrasted with the black wisps of smoke rising from the blood red outline of the circle. The black wisps in turn gravitated toward the glowing white light of the Amulet, almost like water being drawn into a drain. The black energy began to collect into a single nebulous form that soon took the shape of a horse—a stallion, more precisely.

When the Amulet could glow no brighter, its glow quietly dimmed to reveal a stallion standing within the center of the circle and wearing the Amulet from around his neck.

The Dark Stallion toward over everyone else in the room, and his wings nearly overshadowed them all. True to his name, his coat and mane were as pitch black as the room, even the night itself. He would have remained invisible to eyesight had his outline not been highlighted by what little light shone within the room.

Also helping to reveal his form were her glowing red eyes, which matched that of his wife's, and the purple highlights streaked within his flowing mane. The only other feature apparent upon his nearly opaque form was his white cutie mark, which took the shape of a torch with a roaring flame—a symbol of light ironic to his title.

As soon as his feet touched the floor, the Dark Stallion took a few steps forward, and upon stepping outside the circle, took a deep breath. For so long, his lungs had forgotten what it was like to inhale fresh air, considering that he was trapped in spirit form within his shadowy limbo.

"It feels good to be back in flesh and blood." He grasped the Amulet hanging around his neck and rose it toward his face, allowing him to more closely inspect it and see his reflection within its gem. "And it feels even better to be holding what is rightfully mine."

The Shadow Mare took one step toward him. "Welcome back, my dear husband, to the world of the living. Your kingdom awaits its new and rightful sovereign."

"My darling wife." The Dark Stallion approached her to wrap one arm around her shoulder and use his other hoof to pull back her mask, revealing her lips and aligning them with his own before passionately kissing them. "Being trapped within that cold, dark purgatory for so long has made me forget the feeling of your warm embrace and even warmer kiss."

Still within her husband's grip, the Shadow Mare slipped her mask over her face to hide her blushing cheeks and smile. "And for so long, I have missed you, as has your son. I know you have been wanting to see him, as he had been born shortly after you were banished into shadow."

The Dark Stallion released his embrace from her as he turned to face Sky Wind standing next to her. He stepped towards the young colt and gazed upon him, reaching forward to grasp his chin and lift his face toward his.

"Yes, I've always wondered what the face of my heir looked like," he said, studying every feature of Sky Wind's face. "He definitely takes after me, and I'm sure you raised him well enough to do so in demeanor as well as in looks."

Sky Wind simply nodded once his father released his face. "Indeed she has, father, for it was I who helped aid it your return. It was I who kept a watch over our enemies to monitor their activity and track down the items required for your release."

The Dark Stallion grinned. "And you have done well, my son. I can tell by looking at you that you will make a worthy successor to my throne—that it, once I claim it from my usurpers. Speaking of whom—"

He turned to face the magic circle. Either side of it was littered with the debris of broken crystal, and laying on top of the debris were the two princesses—or at least what remained of them.

Both princesses lay lifeless amidst the crystal debris. As their own lives had been snuffed out, so too had the radiance of their coats and mane since faded. No longer was Celestia's mane the many colors of the sunlight reflecting into the rainbow, nor was Luna's mane the opaqueness of the night's sky with the glowing moonlight and glimmering stars. Both manes returned to their original, plain state, with Celestia's mane pink, and Luna's pale blue.

The Dark Stallion paced over to where Celestia lay, and kicked his hoof against her face, causing her head to tip over slightly before falling flat against the stone cold floor. Other than that, there was no other reaction from her. She was lifelessly cold as the very floor she lay upon.

"So these are the princesses who banished me to my eternal prison?" He scoffed. "They appear much older, if not less alive, than when I last saw them."

Shadow Mare paced up next to him. "As they were the ones whose magic was used to banish you, it was their magic we had to harvest to bring you back. As you can see, the spell required to do so cost them their lives, but regained your own."

The Dark Stallion gave a hard chuckle. "Yes, I can feel their very life force coursing through my veins."

He rose upon his hind legs and raised his fore legs toward the sky in triumph. "And with this new energy bestowed upon me, I shall regain my throne and assume my rightful place as sovereign of Equestria."

For a few seconds, he stood silently upon his hind legs before returning to all four. He glared up at his horn and grunted.

The Shadow Mare placed her hoof upon his shoulder. "What seems to be the matter, dear?"

"My horn," he replied. "I cannot use my magic."

"Whatever do you mean?" she asked.

The Dark Stallion swatted her hoof off of his shoulder before snapping back, "I mean exactly what I said. I cannot use my magic. No matter how hard I try to summon it, it will not manifest itself through my horn."

He then began to pace frantically back and forth. "Without my magic, I am unable to claim my right to the throne. I have become impotent."

"This is impossible," the Shadow Mare replied. "You magic should have been restored along with your physical form."

The Dark Stallion stopped pacing. "Then there must have been an error with the magical ritual that resurrected me."

Squish gave an indignant "harrumph!" before putting both fists upon his hips. "Impossible. My spell was foolproof. I should know: I've had to work with fools."

This comment elicited an indignant "Hey!" from both Slash and Swoosh, who returned sharp glares with furrowed eyebrows at Squish.

Squish motioned to the magic circle and everything placed within it. "We had gathered everything required for the ritual. We had captured the two princesses who had initially banished you, and we had retrieved the items by which they had banished you with. That, of course, was the Amulet of Purity, but as its power was divided among the Elements of Harmony, we had to retrieve them as well to transfer their power to the Amulet."

Sky Wind snickered. "Well, then, I guess that very well may be the problem."

Squish raised a skeptical eyebrow at the dark prince. "Whatever do you mean?"

Sky Wind paced over to where the magic circle stood along with the Elements. "The power of the Amulet of Purity had been transferred into the Elements of Harmony, that is true, but it appears their power alone was insufficient. It appears they were powerful enough to bring my father back to his physical form, but not enough to restore his magic. For that, they require the source of their true power."

His two parents glanced at each other before gazing back at their son.

"And where is this power hidden?" The Dark Stallion inquired.

Sky Wind gave a sly grin. "The princess' protégé and her friends."

* * *

Xander shut the book that he and the others had been reading. "Well, that history lesson taught us a little bit about the Dark Stallion and his relation to the princesses."

Twilight placed her hoof on his shoulder. "Which give us all the more reason to go out and find them. Who knows what danger the Shadow Clan will put them in."

Xander tossed the book over his shoulder. "But the question remains about their whereabouts."

Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders. "Meh, I wouldn't bother trying to find them. If the past few weeks proved anything, they're always sure to find us. Danger always has a funny way of doing that."

As soon as she had said that, a bright light flashed from outside and filled the room, followed by a sound like thunder. The explosion of light was violent enough to shake a few books from off their shelves and startle every pony nearly out of their skin.

"What did I tell ya?" Dash said.

The other ponies rushed to the library door to see what had happened outside. When Twilight opened the door, it revealed a ghastly sight that caused every pony to gasp in horror.

The entire town of Ponyville was ablaze in an inferno. The sky glowed bright orange from the flames engulfing every building and tree. Rising billows of black smoke filled the air, along with the screams of ponies scrambling and fleeing through the town.

Twilight and the others stepped into the chaos surrounding them. What had previously been a calm and quiet evening had awoken into an inferno of flame and cacophony. To their own horror, they turned to see that Twilight's own library was ablaze with flames enveloping every single leaf and licking off the bark of the tree.

"What in Celestia's name is going on here," Twilight exclaimed.

Before any pony else could reply, a sinister laugh echoed through the town and boomed from the sky above like thunder.

The ponies turn their gaze upward to the sky swirling with dark clouds, and from them appeared the image of the Shadow Mare gazing down at them.

"Elements of Harmony, heed my warning," her voice roared from above, "surrender yourselves, or witness the destruction of all that you hold dear."

With that, the Shadow Mare resumed her maniacal laughter, forcing the others to cower under her presence.

* * *

_**Shadow Mare:**__ Elements of Harmony, heed my ultimatum: either surrender yourselves at the castle within the Everfree Forest, or face the destruction of all you hold dear._

_**Twilight Sparkle:**__ Oh no! Now we really need to rescue the princesses!_

_**Xander:**__ I'll take care of this. You all stay here?_

_**Twilight:**__ Wait, where do you think you're going?_

_**Xander:**__ This mess is all because of me and my amulet. I'm not going to let you get hurt because of it._

_**Twilight:**__ Haven't you learned anything from us? You don't have to do this alone._

_**Xander:**__ Next time on My Little Pony: "Rescue From The Everfree Forest, Or The Escape From It?"_

_**Twilight:**__ We're all in this together, Xander!_

* * *

**My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and characters © Hasbro and Lauren Faust**  
**Xander © Me**  
**Skywind © ex626AKAKeon**  
**Ninja Star © Ninja-8004**  
**Apperances of the Three Pony Tribe Leaders © Emkay-MLP **

**Voice Credits**

**Twilight Sparkle ...Tara Strong**  
**Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy...Andrea Libman**  
**Applejack, Rainbow Dash...Ashleigh Ball**  
**Rarity, Princess Luna...Tabitha St. Germain**  
**Princess Celestia...Nicole Oliver**  
**Spike...Cathy Weseluck**  
**Xander...Vic Mignogna**  
**Sky Wind...Antony Del Rio**  
**Ninja Star...Dave Wittenberg**  
**Squish...Samuel Vincent**  
**Swoosh...Derek Stephen Prince**  
**Slash...Roger Labon Jackson**  
**Shadow Mare...Susanne Blakeslee**  
**Dark Stallion...Ron Perlman**  
**Princess Platinum...Emilia Clarke**  
**Commander Hurricane...Kimberly Brooks**  
**Chancellor Puddinghead...Candi Milo**  
**Clover The Clever...Hynden Walch**  
**Starswirl The Bearded...Leonard Nimoy**


	11. Episode 11

**My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic presents**

**The Dark Stallion**

**Episode 11: Rescue From The Everfree Forest, Or The Escape From It?**

XXX

Last time on _My Little Pony_:

_Celestia and Luna had been kidnapped and taken to the abandoned castle in the Everfree Forest. The Shadow Clan wanted to use them to resurrect their leader, the Dark Stallion. In life, he had been initially chosen to be Equestria's sovereign ruler, but was dismissed in favor of the two alicorn sisters, and was banished into darkness when he sought to rise up against them. Their very life force was drained to bring him back to life, but his true magical power had yet to be restored. For that, they would require the Elements of Harmony themselves. Will Twilight Sparkle and her friends be captured for the Dark Stallions sinister purposes?_

XXX

**Thousands of Years in the Past**

"My queen, my liege, what is the meaning of this?"

Am armor-clad stallion stood concealed within the shadows of a throne room as he knelt before the royal dais. Upon that dias, sitting upon her royal throne, was Princess Platinum, dressed in her royal regalia. Next to her stood Clover the Clever; and next to her, Starswirl the Bearded. Two royal guards stood on either side of the dias.

Princess Platinum, from atop her throne, gazed upon the stallion. "I regret to inform you, my dear, that what I speak is the truth. Though I had originally considered you for the role of Equestria's sovereign, Starswirl here, in his mighty wisdom and discretion, has found two candidates more suitable for that position."

The stallion rose from upon his knees and took a defiant stance from within the shadows. "But that honor had been promised to me. How could you so easily revoke it? Have I not served you loyally? Have I not fought in your honor? Have I not won you countless wars and battles?"

The unicorn princess could only tilt her head and close her eyes in sorrow. "You have indeed been a noble warrior, but this new land will need more than mere brawn to lead it. It will require a leader who is as strong in heart as he is in will—a loving heart guided by honesty, loyalty, kindness, generosity, as well as laughter, one that will unite this new kingdom with friendship."

She gazed at Starswirl, standing next to her assistant, Clover. "Starswirl here has found such a heart in the two alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna. He and the 12 pony tribe elders have seen fit to prepare them for their new role as Equestria's royal sovereigns."

The stallion, less than pleased by this news, drew a sword from his side. "That throne rightfully belongs to me, and I will take it, whether you give it willingly or not."

He made a mad dash forward and leapt toward the princess, his sword drawn high above him. Before he could strike down upon her, his sword was stopped by two spears, each belonging to the respective guards on either side of her.

The princess merely winced within her throne, her two guards being the only ones keeping the sword from coming down upon her head.

Starswirl took one step forward and struck his staff upon the ground. "You would dare defy your liege, betray your kingdom?"

The stallion took one leap back and swung his sword at the others, pointing at them with its tip. "The only traitors here are you and the others who conspired to take from me what is rightfully mine. That throne was promised to me, and I will take it back for myself!"

XXX

**Present Day**

Ponyville glowed orange with flames engulfing every building and tree. The night sky darkened with billows of black smoke rising into the air, along with the screams of frantic ponies scrambling and fleeing throughout the inferno-engulfed town.

Booming from the sky above like thunder roared a sinister laugh that echoed through the town. From the swirling dark clouds above appeared the image of the Shadow Mare, whom glared down upon Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

"Elements of Harmony, heed my warning," the Shadow Mare told them, "surrender yourselves, or witness the destruction of all that you hold dear."

The Shadow Mare resumed her maniacal laughter once more, whipping the towns ponies further into a panicked frenzy, and forcing Twilight and the others to cower under her presence.

Just then, a sudden breeze rushed through the town, and all the buildings ceased burning. They had returned to their original state, almost as if they had never been set afire. The town stood unharmed, untouched, as if nothing had happened to it that cold night.

All the town ponies whom had previously been panicking stopped once they realized all had returned to normal. They stopped dead in their tracks to survey their surroundings, confused and dumbfounded at what had just occurred.

Equally confused were Twilight and the others.

"What—what just happened?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

"Elements of Harmony," the Shadow Mare bellowed once more, "what you just witnessed is but a vision of what will befall your beloved Ponyville if you do not surrender yourselves to the Dark Stallion. Come to the castle in the Everfree Forest before sunrise, lest this fate come to pass."

The dark clouds quickly dissipated, and the night sky returned to its cloudless array of moon and stars.

As the other town ponies, bewildered by what had just occurred, returned once more to their domiciles, Twilight and the other remained standing outside, pondering their current situation.

Ninja Star turned to Fluttershy. "The castle in the Everfree Forest?"

"She must be referring to the Castle of the Two Sisters," Fluttershy replied. "That's the old palace where Celestia and Luna used to live thousands of years ago. It's where they had stored the Elements of Harmony. Oh, but now it seems as though the Shadow Clan have taken residence there."

Ninja Star nodded with eyes closed. "It appears as though our foes have been hiding right under our own noses this whole time."

Apple Jack scoffed. "Well, if that's the case, they've managed to hide their scent better than a pole cat hiding out in a compost pile the day Granny Smith dumped out her spoiled three-month-old apple chowder. Ain't no pony here in town is crazy enough to venture out into those dang woods alone. It's the most likeliest place for them Shadow Thugs to be hiding out."

Twilight stepped forward. "Well, it seems like we're the only ponies crazy enough to venture to that old castle. We did it before when we defeated Nightmare Moon, and we're going to have to do it again to defeat this new threat."

Pinkie Pie pointed to where the woods stood. "Looks like Xander's beat you to the chase."

Twilight looked to where Pinkie was pointing and saw as the stallion was racing toward the Everfree Forest.

"Xander!" she shouted before blinking out in a flash.

Within a blink of an eye, Twilight appeared before Xander, who reeled backwards in shock.

"Where do you think you're going?" The mare asked of the stallion.

"Where does it look like I'm going?" The stallion replied, pointing to the Everfree Forest. "Did you think I was going for a midnight stroll?"

"And you weren't even going to wait for us?"

"What made you think I wanted you to come along?"

Twilight let out an exasperated grunt. The last time she felt so frustrated was when she reached an impasse trying to figure out Pinkie Sense. Had she felt any angrier, she would have burst into flames as well.

"Have you learned nothing from tonight?" she yelled at him. "Have you learned nothing from your time with us?"

Xander remained unfazed. "The only thing I learned tonight is that there's an evil force lurking within the forest who has taken both ruling monarchs hostage and who seeks to take over Equestria by resurrecting an ancient evil."

"Which is why you need as many ponies as you can to assist you," Twilight interrupted.

"No I don't! Those thugs are clearly after you and your friends, and the last thing you need is to practically walk into their trap and give yourselves up. You need to stay here where it's safe and let me handle this. I spent four years within the kingdom's most prestigious military academy and graduated from it with high honors. I know you believe in your 'magic of friendship,' but if anyone can handle this on their own, it's me."

Twilight was about to interject, but before she could, she felt a hoof upon her shoulder. She turned to see that it was pink, along with the pony whom it belonged to.

"Pinkie?" she asked.

Pinkie pushed Twilight aside. "Let me handle this."

The pink pony approached the unicorn colt.

"Look buddy," she addressed him nonchalantly, "I get you've got this whole brooding loner shtick going, but if you ever paid any attention in school, you'd know that the loner always succumbs to the help of the group in the end. It's just one of those unavoidable tropes ya gotta work with, so stop fighting and go with the flow."

Xander's expression shifted from serious to confused, his mind unable to comprehend what he just heard. "But—"

Pinkie placed her hoof upon his lip, preventing him from saying another word.

"Up bup bup! No buts! Twilight tried to weasel her way out of the situation when we agreed to help her defeat Nightmare Moon. Now it's your turn to reluctantly accept out help in defeating this baddie."

She let go of Xander as she started to bounce toward the forest. The others had by this time caught up to them and followed her lead.

"Now come on and let's kick some Shadow Clan can-can. We're the only mares bad enough to rescue the princesses."

Xander could only stand awestruck and confused at what had just transpired. Twilight placed a hoof upon his shoulder. "She has a point."

Xander could only grunt and follow Twilight and the others as they ventured into the woods.

XXX

Twilight and her friends traversed the Everfree Forest as they originally had when they first sallied forth to confront Nightmare Moon. However, unlike their previous endeavor into the woods, their journey was not as prolonged.

During this trip, there was no sea serpent preventing their cross over the river, no scary trees to impede their progress, no manticore to block their path, and no fleet of Shadow Bolts to cut away the bridge for them. As such, the six ponies (and their two additional stallion companions) reached the old castle more quickly than they had originally, arriving within at least a half hour's walk.

The eight ponies stood before the tall, dilapidated wooden doors of the castle, which stood equally as dilapidated as when the ponies first arrived many moons ago—if anything, the palace was equally as intimidating within the darkness of the night and forest as it was before.

No sooner had the ponies approached the doorway when the two looming doors creaked open upon their loud, rusty hinges, as if pried open by invisible hands. One could have easily dismissed this as an act of the wind, but the air that night was too deathly still for the wind to take the blame.

Xander leered into the darkness of the darkened hallway opened before them. "It seems as if we're expected."

Most other ponies would have turned heel and rushed off into the opposite direction, but these eight were prompted inside merely by duty, and so they entered.

Once the last pony entered with their last footstep stepping inside, the door behind them promptly closed as it had opened. Most other ponies would have been startled by this, especially Fluttershy, but as duty moved them forward, it prevented them from heading back. They were certain to leave with their princesses or not leave at all.

Down the hallway the ponies tread, kicking up dust that had collected for more than a millennia, their hoofsteps echoing off the dilapidated walls, upon which sound had barely echoed for equally as long as the dust had been kicked up. What little light that shone from the moon outside poured through the open windows, illuminating the way forward for the ponies.

Within a minute or so, they reached the end of the hall and entered the mezzanine, equally as empty and in ruin as the hall before it. As its windows were much wider, much more light poured inside to reveal the staircase and mezzanine, along with the many banners hanging from the walls about, their fibers long worn and torn by time.

Twilight cast her gaze about the room. "Where do you think they'll be?"

Xander charged before her. "Doesn't matter where they are: they're going to come here."

He stood in the center of the room, standing at the foot of the stairs that led to the mezzanine. "Show yourself, cowards. Come out and tell what you've done with the princesses."

His voice echoed off the surrounding walls, and was answered with laughter that soon echoed along with it.

In a swirl of wind and puff of purple smoke, Slash appeared center stage high upon the mezzanine.

"Once again, as the fly falls within the spider's web, so have you fallen into my most elaborate of traps," the mantis boasted. "Though it appears as though you have become trapped through your own will."

Xander refused to remain patient, stomping one hoof upon the floor. "Enough monologing! Where are the princesses?"

Another puff of smoke exploded to Slash's right, and from it appeared Swoosh, cackling.

"Sorry to disappoints youse guys, but I'm afraid your princesses are in another castle," the tengu quipped.

Another smoke cloud exploded to Slash's left, and from it appeared Squish, who also gave a cackle.

"What my colleague means to say is that your princesses are within this castle," the kappa wizard replied. "But at the same time, they are not all here."

Xander merely grit his teeth as a vein popped on his forehead. "What is with you evil villains always refusing to give a straight answer and speaking in riddles?"

Squish replied with a smirk. "It matters not what you think, for it is far too late to save your darling princesses."

Swoosh crossed his arms with a haughty grin. "Youse seese, our boss has finally returned from the other side—if you know what I'm saying?—and he's come back to claim what's his, which particularly would be the throne of Equestria, capeesh?!"

Slash likewise crossed his claws. "Unfortunately, though our dear leader has returned, his great power has not been restored. For that, he requires the Elements of Harmony."

Twilight stepped in from of Xander. "But you lot took the Elements with you when you captured the princesses."

Squish struck his staff upon the floor. "Yes, but the Elements themselves are mere remnants. To achieve their true power, they require the catalysts from which they derive their magic," he flung his staff forward to point at the ponies below, "by which, I mean you six."

Apple Jack stood her ground. "And what in the hay makes y'all think we're going to help you?"

Squish cackled as he returned his staff to its upright position. "Whatever made you think you were going to relinquish your magic willingly? Did you assume that we brought you here for a surprise party?"

Pinkie Pie stepped forward. "As a matter of fact," she pointed at the three minions, "we very much did, and we are extremely disappointed at the lack of party."

Within a heartbeat, her demeanor shifted from angry to curious, as she placed her hoof under her chin. "Of course, any party would have sufficed. We could have had a birthday party. Or a graduation party. Or a pool party. Ooh! Even a bachelorette party. But who would be the lucky mare-to-be?"

Slash rubbed the temples of his forehead as the pink pony listed off the many different types of parties. "Ugh! The pink one doeth protest too much."

Squish waved his staff forward. "Leave her to me."

In a glow of blue light, one of the hanging banners fell from the wall and levitated toward Pinkie Pie, enveloping her within it. Most other ponies would have been shocked by this, but as the banner lifted her off the ground and toward Squish, she merely acted intrigued by the feat.

"Ooh! Is this a magic trick?" She asked as she floated upon the banner in the air like a flying magic carpet.

Squish held out his glowing staff in the direction of the banner, controlling it as one would control a kite by the string.

"Now you see her!" he exclaimed, folding the banner in on itself and concealing Pinkie Pie within it like a bag.

With a flick of his wrist, the banner turned upside down, unfolding to reveal it empty and the pink pony vanished.

"And now you don't," he replied with grim grin.

The others gasped in shock to see their friend vanished without a trace.

Twilight bolted forward and threw her hoof forward, pointing at the kappa wizard. "What have you done with her?"

Squish laughed. "The same thing that I will do with the rest of you."

With another flick of his wrist, he sent the banner flying toward Twilight to capture her as it had caught Pinkie.

When the fabric flew mere inches from the purple mare, Xander quickly intercepted it. With a burst of magic from his horn, he sent a fireball crashing right into it, enveloping it entirely in flame until it quickly became snuffed out in a puff of ashes.

"Everybody, scatter!" he yelled. "This is not a drill."

Upon his word, the ponies scattered into three different directions. Both he and Twilight turned to bolt through the hallway from whence they came. Fluttershy, Ninja Star, and Rarity fled into one hallway, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack fled into the one opposite of theirs.

Squish raised his staff above his head. "I do love a good chase."

In a flash, he spun in place and disappeared into a purple whirlwind. The other two did likewise.

XXX

Twilight and Xander rushed down the hallway through which they had previously came. What had taken them a minute's walk had now taken them a half minute's sprint as they reached the tall wooden doors.

With a glow of his horn, Xander caused the doors to open before them, allowing them easy passage as they raced out the door and onto the bridge that crossed the moat.

Before either of the two unicorns could cross to the other side, appearing at the very end of the bridge right in front of them in purple smoke was Squish.

The kappa wizard promptly raised his staff within the air, and flinging it in their direction, launched a fireball towards them.

No sooner had he or Twilight blinked than Xander created a shield of cyan light, shielding them from the blast, and bouncing the fireball back at the wizard who had launched it.

Squish became enveloped within a burst of flame and quickly dissipated like a wick to a candle. His defeat had come easy—too easy!

Sensing something behind him, Xander turned in time to intercept yet another fireball. This time, he launched his own, which collided with the other and caused the two to destroy each other.

As the embers from the explosions flickered out of existence like the debris from a firework, through the fading smokescreen appeared Squish himself.

The wizard merely stood and smirked at the two unicorns. "As much as I would love to show off my grandiose skill, I have far better things to do, like returning the mare to my master."

Xander grit his teeth as he stood his ground in front of Twilight, guarding her.

"Besides," Squish flipped his wrist, "It's quite apparent that my magic is far more powerful than your own, so why bother testing something that is already proven?"

In a burst of anger, Xander shot a lightning bolt at the kappa, who quickly deflected the attack with his staff, sending the lightning bolt into the direction of a far off tree.

"I have no qualms proving myself," Xander replied. "Besides, we have a score to settle. You killed my father, so prepare to die!"

XXX

Through a narrow hallway lined with suits of armor raced Fluttershy and Ninja Star with Rarity trailing behind, huffing and puffing to keep up with the more agile ninja and pegasus.

Rarity had barely caught up to the two when she felt the floor beneath her revolve almost like a lazy Susan. When her sight had caught up with her other senses, she saw as the wall and floor she was standing on revolved in on itself. Before she could cry out for help, she found herself trapped behind the other side of the wall.

Fluttershy glanced back and nearly ran off to chase after her friend, but a hoof caught her shoulder and forced her to keep moving forward.

"Rarity," she called out with her hood stretched out.

"No!" Ninja Star interjected. "It is too late for her, we must make our own escape."

The two continued along the hallway, turning the corner to another one. Light shimmered at the very end, and they saw as it lead outside.

Through the door they escaped, and they found themselves in a closed-off courtyard. In its former days, it very well could have been a garden with blossoming flowers and trees, and water rushing and gushing within the fountain. Now, in its present state, the courtyard merely stood as a cobblestone floor with ivy peaking and creeping within the cracks, with rows upon rows of desolate flowerbeds of mere dirt and rock, and a dry fountain from which no water flowed.

Standing in the middle of this courtyard, the two horses leant upon one another. Fluttershy rested against Ninja Star's bosom, feeling and hearing his rapid breathing and heartbeat as her own heart fluttered and lungs burned. Though her own racing heart made her feel tired, for Ninja Star, his heart only kept his adrenaline flowing, preparing him for anything else they would come across.

Case in point was the kunai knife flying directly towards him.

He pushed Fluttershy aside, and whipping out his katana, intercepted the knife, swatting it away almost like striking a baseball with a bat.

Fluttershy crouched beside him as they gazed up in the direction from whence the kunai flew.

Standing atop a nearby tower was Slash, his silhouette perfectly framed within the moon shining behind him. Upon one leg he stood with his arms crossed.

"There is no need for us to fight, young swordsman," the mantis announced. "I merely require the young mare, and if you turn her over, no blood will need to be shed."

Ninja Star whipped his sword in front of Fluttershy, guarding her. "You have taken away two other mares in my life. Why would I willfully give away another to you? Come down, and I shall willfully shed your blood."

Slash leapt within the air and summersaulted three times before landing in a fighting stance with his two claws seethed before him like swords.

"So be it."

XXX

Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack raced down an empty hallway. While the earth pony was able to maintain a gallop, she still trailed far behind her pegasus friend.

With a sudden burst of energy within her, she managed to sprint forward at a much faster pace, but before she could reach the rainbow-maned mare in front of her, she stumbled upon the floor, and began rolling down an incline.

A trap door opened beneath her, and she rolled inside like a tumbleweed down a hill. As she disappeared into the floor, her sudden disappearance went unnoticed by Rainbow Dash, who kept her sight forward as she furiously flapped her wings.

The end of the hall opened up to a stairwell up which Dash flew. Being a pegasus meant not having to walk all the way up the stairs and instead flying straight to the top.

She exited onto a battlement which overlooked the decrepit castle. The building had once towered majestically over the forest, but now, most of it lay within ruins, with its towers and walls having since fallen.

Dash landed on the battlement floor and turned to call out for Apple Jack. She was shocked to see no one behind her. Obviously, she was faster than the earth pony, but not fast enough to lose her like this.

Under her hooves, she noticed a shadow passing over her. At the opposite end of the battlement she saw another pegasus land—a pegasus whose glaring eyes she'd never thought she'd see again.

"Sky Wind!"

Dash paced her way over to where the pegasus colt stood. So ecstatic she was to see him that she didn't notice the sour expression on his face.

"Oh, I was so worried when those monsters ran off with you. I thought they may have harmed you. My friends thought you may have been one of them. They tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. I knew you were—"

A kick to the face was what she was met with as soon as she approached him. Sky Wind had turned on his forehooves and kicked her with his hindquarters, sending her flying across the battlement and skidding all the way to the other side.

Painfully, she picked herself from off of the floor, and with bruised left cheek, gazed in horrified confusion at the colt she had assumed was her friend.

"S-Sky Wind?" Her head continued to reel from the attack, and her mind raced to comprehend what had just occurred. "What's gotten into you?"

The colt merely chuckled. "Perhaps you should have listened to your friends. They were right about me."

Staggering to stand up, Rainbow Dash could only gaze at him in confusion. "W-what are you saying?"

A harsh cackle echoed from behind her. She turned to see Swoosh landing behind her, falling upon one knee and supporting himself with his staff.

"What, is you hard of hearing or somethin'?" the tengu asked. "He's sayin' that he's one of us. He was workin' for us this whole time, or at least we is workin' for him, what with him being the prince and all that."

Dash gawked at the very word. "P-prince?"

"That's right," Sky Wind replied. "You're looking at the son of the Dark Stallion himself, the heir prince to the rightful throne of Equestria."

Dash shook her head. "Stop playing games with me. This isn't funny."

"Oh, he ain't playing no games, missy," Swoosh replied. "The only game he was playing was pretending to be yours friend, and if youse still thinks he is, then I's gots a bridge to sell you, you know what I'm saying? He was acting like our, what do you call it, Manchurian candidate, or something."

"You're lying!" Dash barked at the tengu. "Sky Wind wouldn't be working for you creeps."

She raced back over to where Sky Wind stood. "Tell him. You're not one of them. You're just playing around. You're one of us. You're my frie—"

Another kick to the face was received by her, sending her toppling backwards onto the floor. Her eyes stung from the bruises under her eyes, which stung even more with the tears racing down her face.

She tried to painfully lift her head up, but was forced back down by Sky Wind's hoof pressing her head into the cobblestone.

"Sorry, Dashie, but he's right," Sky Wind forced his hoof even harder onto Dash's head, rubbing it further into the cobblestone, and forcing her face to become wetted more with tears and blood. "That whole time I was down there in Ponyville, nothing but a ruse to spy on you all and track down the amulet."

His words wounded her more than him actually pressing his hoof upon her head and forcing her face to be scratched underneath her.

"The whole time I was with you and the others, I was merely acting, pretending to be your friend so I could keep a closer eye on you all."

Even with her head planted against the rough cobblestone, rubbing against her face with the added pressure of Sky Wind's hoof upon her head, the wounds that hurt worse were those being afflicted by every word spoken by Sky Wind. The pain only caused her to tear up even more, with her tears searing the wounds on her face like rubbing alcohol.

Sky Wind bent over with his face inches closer to Dash's. "And to think, all this time, you honestly thought we were friends."

Her bloodshot eyes reddened even bloodier as the anger within them shone through. In a single thrust, she pushed herself off of the floor from underneath Sky Wind's weight, and in a single motion, kicked him in the face with her back hooves, causing him to fly across the battlement.

As Sky Wind recovered from the sudden attack, he bushed his face, which proved to be bruised less than his own ego. He sucked breath through his teeth, gleaning in a sneer. Across the battlement, he glared at Dash, who returned with a glare twofold harsher.

"No!" Her tears of sadness flowed into tear of rage that glowed red within her bloodshot eyes. "You may say you were only acting, but that time we spent together, the friendship that we shared, that was the real deal. I should know: I'm the Element of Loyalty."

Sky Wind only smirked, which made Dash glare even harsher.

In a single leap, she thrust herself forward with right forehoove raised. "What we had was real, and I'm going to make you remember, even if I have to knock some sense into you."

XXX

Squish rose his staff in the air. The sapphire at its head began to fizzle with electricity. The electricity formed into ball lightning. When it had grown to the size of a soccer ball, Squish flung it toward Xander.

Without hesitation, the stallion created a magic shield in front of him, bouncing the lightning ball back toward Squish, who in turn struck the ball away from him with his staff, like a baseball bat would a baseball.

The two volleyed the lightning ball back and forth between one another. When it was sent back toward Xander, the stallion zapped a bolt of lightning from his horn, sending the bolt through the incoming ball, thus dissipating it, and straight at Squish, who, having failed to prepare for such an attack, was promptly struck.

Electrocuted, and with electric spark surging along his body, the kappa wizard was knocked off the balcony upon which he had been standing, and sent falling toward the bridge below. His body collapsed upon the stone, and in a puff of purple smoke, disappeared.

Xander should have been pleased by his attack, but deep down, he felt as though the victory was easy—too easy. His feeling was confirmed when he heard Twilight exclaim.

"Behind you!"

Xander turned and saw as Squish appeared opposite of him across the bridge. The wizard had flung his staff forward and unleashed a fireball, which neared Xander as he turned to face it. As the fireball approached him, it quickly dissipated upon striking a magic force field that appeared around him. The flames licked the outside of the shield, which glowed with a purple aura.

Xander was saved, but clearly not by his own doing. His magic was blue. This magic was purple. With a snarl, he whipped his head back at Twilight, who stood, horn glowing.

"Damn it, Twilight, what did you do that for?" he barked at her.

Twilight furrowed her brow. Her horn stopped glowing, causing the force field around Xander to disappear.

"'Thank you for saving my life' is usually the more appropriate response," she retorted.

Xander continued glaring at her. "I already told you that I don't need your help."

"Like Tartarus, you do!" was Twilight's reply.

Xander gazed back at Squish, who snickered in amusement. "This battle is between me and him. I don't care what mortal danger I get into, I want you to stay out of this and let me handle it."

Twilight did not reply, but instead took two steps back. Her friendship speeches clearly would not work on him at this point. This was clearly a battle of honor between him and the fiend who had killed his father. To intervene further, she thought, would be dishonorable.

Squish chuckled. "If you're done squabbling with your marefriend—"

"She's not my mare friend," Xander snapped, mouth nearly foaming. "And I'll take whatever you dish at me. I studied at the most prestigious military academy in Equestria and graduated with top honor."

Squish rested his staff by his side. "And I studied magic for nearly a thousand years. You're prestigious military honors are preschool-level quality compared to my magic."

Not having any of it, Xander rushed forward with horn glowing.

Squish merely chuckled in response, and held forth his staff. "I've studied tricks you barely even heard of."

As Xander approached, the kappa wizard began to reverberate in place, almost like a washing machine on its highest setting, and within a blink of an eye, the wizard began to circle around the stallion. As he did, the wizard began to multiply, until eight images of himself revolved around Xander, who stood his ground and surveyed the clones surrounding him.

Like the planets revolving within the solar system, the eight wizards revolved around the stallion, to the point where it was nearly impossible to tell who the original was. Xander knew only one was real and the others mere dopplegangers, but at this point, he could hardly tell.

As Squish and his doppelgangers revolved around Xander, they rose their staffs in the air. As before, the staff end surged with electricity, readying for an electric attack. Each Squish flung their staff forward, sending forth lightning bolts at Xander from every direction.

Before Xander could be struck, he summoned a magical force field that surrounded him like a dome, just like Twilight's force field before, but with his blue magic rather than her purple. As each bolt struck the shield, it became reflected and flew right back at the Squish that summoned it.

When each Squish was struck by their respective bolt, all of them burst into purple puffs of smoke except for one. The real one was sent flying back by the impact, and he bounced across the bridge like a stone upon a water's surface, bouncing once, twice, and three times before eventually skidding to a halt.

Xander dissipated his shield as quickly as he had summoned it. "Was that supposed to be your impressive feat of thousands of years of magical study? We learn that technique in military academy as freshmen. I didn't even need to know who the real you was. I'd just let your own attack find that out for me."

He stomped on the ground, summoning a glowing pentagram circle of blue energy. From it rose his signature pole staff with flowing ribbon. He grasped it with his magic and readied it for combat in a fighting pose.

"I don't care how long you've been studying magic for," Xander said as he rushed toward the fallen kappa wizard with pole staff raised. "My training has prepared me for everything."

As Xander approached the kappa wizard, Squish rose from the ground using his staff to help prop him up. The wizard twirled his staff before striking it on the ground. His staff soon glowed with a dark blue light, and in a blink of an eye, transformed from a wooden staff to an iron sword.

His staff was not the only thing to change shape. He too began to glow with an indigo aura, and from the head down, began to change shape to that of a stallion.

This sudden transformation caused Xander to stop in his track—not because the magic had taken him off guard, but because of what—or rather, who—Squish had transformed himself into.

Once a kappa, he now stood as a stallion with the same colored coat and mane as Xander's, though with much grayer hairs, to the point where it made his mane—and also, his beard—look more silver than cyan. He bore a striking resemblance to Xander, though he appeared to be much older. One could even say that he looked like Xander's father.

Which he did.

XXX

Upon landing on his two feet and positioning his two claws before him like swords, Slash made a mad dash toward Ninja Star. In less than four sprints, he had neared his foe and swung his claws at him, only to have them parried by the ninja pony's katana.

Slash exchanged a series of blows, each of which were parried by Ninja Star without even forcing a single bead of sweat. For nearly a minute, the mantis unleashed a flurry of attacks while the colt merely guarded himself against the seemingly endless barrage that only served to drive him back with every strike.

The mantis pulled back to lunge his claw straight into the colt's face. Ninja Star jerked his head to the right, the blade of Slash's claw mere centimeters from his face—any closer and it would have surely left a scarring gash upon his cheek.

Ninja Star spun away from the attack, whipping out his katana forward as he did so, ready to have it strike the mantis as he turned back towards him. Slash intercepted the attack, clashing his claw against the katana.

For nearly ten seconds, the two stood, blade against blade, each one exerting their strength to push against the other's attack. It seemed as though Ninja Star was beginning to have the upper hand, as he forced Slash back, only for Slash to shove against him even harder, sending him toppling onto his rump.

As Ninja Star fell upon the ground, Slash leapt into the air, both claws raised and ready to descend upon the felled colt. Before he could land upon his foe and deliver a fatal blow, the mantis was met with the colt's hind hooves, which gave him a swift kick in the gut.

Slash flew backwards, but before he could fall onto the ground, his wings began to flutter, and he began hoving several feet into the air. As he flew higher and higher, he crossed his two claws, which glowed with purple energy.

"X-Cross Slash!" He slashed his claws forward, releasing two red energy beams.

Ninja Star had stood upon his feet once more when he saw the two beams racing toward him. He managed to leap up and out of the way, causing them to crash underneath him and tear up the old flooring into a cloud of dust.

As he leapt into the air, he managed to have leapt high enough to meet the mantis face-to-face.

The two once more clashed blades with one another—Ninja Star with his katana, and Slash with his two claws—as the two exchanged a series of blows in midair.

Fluttershy merely stood on the ground watching as the two exchanged blows. To her, their blades moved so quickly that they appeared to be nothing more than immaterial sliver flashes. No sooner had she blinked than the two disappeared.

The filly gasped. Oddly enough, even though the two had disappeared, she could still heard the clashing of their blades-though this time, it was coming from behind her. She turned to see the two continuing to fight within mid-air, but this time, they were hovering several yards behind her.

She blinked again, and once again, the two disappeared. She turned her head to see them fighting midair in the far-off corner of the courtyard. They would disappear and reappear several times more, each time appearing in another corner of the courtyard.

After five times, they reappeared right above her head. This time, she saw as Ninja Star swung at Slash, only for the mantis to dodge the attack, pull back his claw, and plunge it towards the colt's chest.

Ninja Star managed to pull himself back in perfect rhythm with the claw, moving along with it. Had he remained still, the claw would have certainly pierced his heart.

The two then began to descend towards earth, and Fluttershy managed to race out of their way. She did not wish to interfere. This was Ninja Star's fight, and his alone.

The two landed upon the ground, each one staring the other down with their swords drawn.

Ninja Star smirked. "It seems as though we are evenly matched."

Slash chuckled as he slit his eyes into an evil glare. "Then it seems I must multiply my efforts several fold.

The mantis beat his wings like that of a hummingbird and began to fly sideways. He circled around Ninja Star, first at a speed that allowed the colt to rotate upon his hooves and follow his movement, but then at a speed so unimaginably fast that the colt was forced to stop and watch as his foe revolved around him like a slingshot being spun around his head.

Slash appeared as a single blur flying around Ninja Star. To the ninja pony's eyes, it nearly appeared as if there were several mantises flying around him. Sure enough, as the mantis began to slow down, he revealed that there were, indeed, several clones of him joining in his revolution around the ninja pony.

When Slash stopped spinning, Ninja Star could count at least seven other Slashes surrounding him.

The stallion merely scoffed. "You are not the only one who can create clones of himself. I too have studied in the art of the ninja."

Ninja Star stood upon his hind legs and cross his forehooves together. "Ninja Art of the Shadow Clone!"

He disappeared in a puff of smoke, which, when dissipated, revealed that he had likewise cloned himself, with his clones surrounding him and their number matching with Slash's.

"And for every clone that you create, I can replicate twofold." Upon saying that, his clones likewise crossed their forehooves and disappeared into puffs of smoke, which disappeared to reveal a clone of themselves.

Ninja Star and Slash stood within the courtyard 16 to eight.

Fluttershy could only gawk at the army standing before her, with Ninja Star and his clones clearly outmatching those of Slash.

For a whole minute, everyone stood silently within the courtyard, the only other noise being that of the surrounding trees fluttering with the night air. The silence broke as one clone sprinted forward, and like a chain reaction, caused the others to move likewise, with each clone of Ninja Star lunging toward a clone of Slash.

XXX

Purple and rainbow-colored streaks rushed through the night sky above as Sky Wind and Rainbow Dash engaged in aerial combat. From the ground below, the two appeared as comets in the night sky, each one ramming into the other, causing the other to bounce back. When one rammed into the other, the other was sent flying backwards, only to fly back and knock the other one back. The two appeared almost like pendulum balls within a Newton's Cradle.

Back and forth the two exchanged blows, each sending the other back and back again. Once more, Rainbow Dash flew toward Sky Wind, ready to strike. Before she could, Sky Wind dodged her attack, sending her flying in a straight line before realizing she had passed him. When she turned, she saw Sky Wind flying away.

She grit her teeth in frustration as she came to an immediate mid-air halt before taking off into Sky Wind's direction.

"Hey, no fair! Come back here, you coward," she screamed as she chased after him. "That's cheating!"

Sky Wind glanced back at her. "All's fair in love and war."

His taunt clearly angered Dash and caused her to fly even faster, allowing her to catch up to him and fly with him neck-to-neck.

"That depends," Dash asked. "Is this love, or war?"

Sky Wind snarled at her. "Well, it's most certainly isn't love!"

He turned on his back and kicked his hind legs at her, causing Dash to stumble backwards in midair once, twice.

As she regained her upright position, she could not find Sky Wind anywhere in her line of vision.

From below, Sky Wind rushed at her, grabbing her, and carrying her away as he flew straight up. One hundred, two hundred, three hundred feet they rose into the air until Sky Wind flung her away, causing her to fly an additional hundred feet or so. Backwards she spun, once, twice, three times before stopping.

As she began to shake away her dizziness, she saw Sky Wind fly at her. Before he could strike, she dodged his attack, sending him flying several feet before realizing he had missed her.

He stopped in midair to survey his surroundings, looking for Rainbow Dash. Before he could look behind him, a hard knock came smacking him against the back of his head, followed by a kick to the stomach. Rainbow Dash had flown up behind him, punching him in the back of the head before kneeing him in the stomach.

Sky Wind could barely react when he found himself being turned upside-down and grabbed by Rainbow Dash with all four hooves. Wrestling fans would say she had him in a piledriver. The two of them were then sent plummeting to the ground below, the speed of their descent increased with the rapid flapping of Dash's wings.

The last time Sky Wind was in this position, he was being saved by Dash; now, she was sending him to what looked like his doom.

The two raced to earth, with the castle and ground below fast approaching with every second. They fell at such a velocity that the air around them began to grow heavy and spiral around them, the wind fighting back against them. Simultaneously, Rainbow Dash began to glow with every essence of her polychromatic being. The friction of the air causing her to become engulfed in a flame of many color.

In but a split second, Dash tossed Sky Wind toward the castle while she shot upward in the opposite direction. As she did, she left behind an explosion of rainbow color that spread out over the castle, appearing in the sky like ripples on a water's surface interrupted by a pebble, and cracking with a thunderous boom.

This was the third sonic rainboom that Dash had ever created.

As Dash flew up and away, a disoriented Sky Wind was sent hurdling toward one of the castle spires. He rammed right through it like a wrecking ball, causing it to tumble down into ruin, while he kept on flying toward yet another spire—this one managed to break his fall, his speed having been slowed by the previous spire.

He crashed straight into the second spire, leaving and imprint of his body before collapsing onto the battlement below.  
Rainbow Dash flew toward the opposite side of the battlement facing Sky Wind across the other side, lying within the rubble of his impact.

"I hope that knocked some sense into you," she yelled. "Now are you going to stop acting and go back to being your normal self?"

Sky Wind painfully lifted his head to gaze at her with a grim-grinning, if not painful, smirk. "Are you still on about that? This is my normal self. The Sky Wind you knew was a lie. He wasn't real."

This made Rainbow Dash snarl and race toward Sky Wind, whom she pinned against the wall, or what remained of it, in less than a split second.

"Yes you are," she yelled directly in his face, with such force that she nearly caused an artery in her neck to pop. "What we had was real. The time we shared was real. The friendship we had was real. I don't care who you used to be, the Sky Wind I know was a real friend who cared about others, even more so than himself."

Her body shivered as she continued to force herself against him, pinning him against the wall, against which he hung limp. Her face and head became darker in anger. She had to force herself to continue glaring at him in the eyes, as her own began to water.

"Even if you regained you old memories, you still have to remember the memories we had in Ponyville." The tears flowing down her face caused her to choke. "You have to remember. Remember!"

One of her tears fell off her face and directly into Sky Wind's eye. He winced, not necessarily from the tears, but from a sudden flashback of recent memories.

_"I don't know. Maybe I'm just trying too hard to remember my lost memories," Sky Wind told Rainbow Dash._

_"I know you really want your memory back, but I guarantee you'll get it back eventually," she told him._

_"It's only because I lost my memories that I met you and the others. Ever since losing them, I've been having so many adventures here in Ponyville. So…So sometimes I wonder what will happen if I regain my lost memories? Will I end up losing my new memories? Will I forget about my new friends? Will I forget about…about you?"_

_Rainbow Dash thought for a second before giving a hearty laugh. "You? Forget me? C'mon! No pony can ever forget a great pony like yours truly."_

_She put her arm around his shoulder. "Besides, even if you were to forget about everything, I would still stick by your side to make sure that you remembered once again. After all, if you regain your old memories, surely you could regain your new ones to."_

_Celestia gazed at Sky Wind. "I know that deep down within even the darkest of hearts exists the smallest glimmer of light, and that no matter how dark that heart is, that light has a chance to shine if only given the chance."_

_"Sky Wind," she called out to him, forcing him to look at her. "Do not follow the evil path laid before you by your mother and father. I know that there is some good in you."_

Sky Wind winced in pain as these memories suddenly resurfaced to the forefront of his mind. He slowly reopened his eyes and focused back on Dash, whose face was contorted in bitter sadness and anger. All of those feelings faded away as she saw a concerned expression from Sky Wind.

The purple stallion chuckled painfully. "Now that you mention it, I do remember one thing."

Dash frowned as she gazed into his green eyes. "What's that?"

Sky Wind smiled ear to ear as best as he could in his condition. "I remember beating you in our first race together."

What had started as tears of sorrow soon flowed as tears of joy as Dash hugged Sky Wind, embracing him warmly, as if she was welcoming back an old, returning friend.

XXX

Xander stood frozen in place. He had last seen his father alive ten years ago, before Squish, in the guise of a dead thief, murdered him in cold blood. Most would have been happy to see their dead relative alive once again. In this particular circumstance, that was not so for Xander, who stood quivering—in what? Grief. Shame. Disgust. Even he did not know.

Twilight could only raise her hoof to her mouth. She could see the pain in Xander's eyes, though it did not show as much in his expression.

Xander's father—or rather, the illusion of Xander's father—merely chuckled a deep chuckle as he readied his sword, holding it before him. "Did your training prepare you for this?"

Xander did not reply. He could not. He remained standing, polestaff readied, fighting stance readied still. His face may have concealed his inner pain, but his watering eyes revealed his secret.

As one tear rolled down his face, he screamed out in agony, lunging toward what appeared to be his father, and bringing down his polestaff with every ounce of strength within him, only to be stopped by his father's blade.

"Bastard!" he cried. "You think your magic tricks will distract me? You think I would be afraid to strike my own father?"

With every exclamation, he struck his polestaff against the blade. "It's only succeeding in pissing me off, and it's making me fight even harder against you with every fiber of my being."

Before Xander could strike again, Squish leant right to dodge the attack. In the same movement, he swung his sword up to strike at Xander, who only leant backwards away from the attack.

The two exchanged blow for blow, each one countering the other's attack. The exchange went on for about a minute or so. During that time, it seemed as though Xander had the upper hand, though it equally seemed as though he were waning in energy. Squish then began to take the upper hand, striking more times than he countered.

As Squish gave one slash forward, Xander leapt back out of the way of the attack. He then took his polestaff as one would hold a javelin and lunged forward.

As the polestaff plunged at Squish, the wizard in disguise leant away from the attack, only to end up stumbling backwards one, two, three times. In a puff of smoke, he returned to his normal form as he rested against his staff upon bended knee.

Xander drew back his polestaff and twirled it several times before striking the ground. "You might have taken his image, but you hardly mirror him in stamina. I should know, because he taught me everything I do know."

With that, he leapt toward Squish with polestaff raised above his head, ready to strike down upon his felled foe.

Squish merely gazed up with a sinister grin. "Yes, but did he teach you everything he knew?"

The wizard struck his own staff upon the ground. Upon the ground over which Xander flew appeared a glowing white circle with a pentagram underneath him.

XXX

Fluttershy could barely comprehend the chaos erupting around her. Alone she stood in the midst of a battlefield upon which fought an army of 24, and yet it remained as a duel between two. She stood underneath the shadow of one of the courtyard statues, afraid to move, lest she find herself in the crosshair of two clashing swords, or in the trajectory of a flying kunai or shuriken.

Everywhere she turned, she could see Ninja Star clashing blades with Slash. Here, Ninja Star sliced right through Slash's torso as easily as a hot knife would slice through butter. There, he had a kunai pierce through his forehead. And over there, he had wrestled the mantis off of him, and sooner then he had done so, flung a fistful of shuriken stars at his foe.

As each clone was defeated, it swiftly disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sometimes, it would be one of Ninja Star's; other times, it was Slash's. Within the span of ten minutes, the battle slowly began to die down as its numbers likewise dwindled—having started with 24, then dwindling to 20, then 15, then five, and finally back down to the original two.

Through the entire ordeal, even though each clone of each original fighter was killed off at an equal rate, it was clear to Fluttershy that Ninja Star maintained the upper hand, with his clones outnumbering those of slash two-to-one.

Now the two foes found each other once again standing each other down, each one standing opposite the other, and with each one gasping for breath following their previous skirmish. The sweat on each of their foreheads glistened underneath the moonlight.

Ninja Star sneered. "It seems as though my own strength is twice that of your own. Anything you can do, I can do twofold."

Slash likewise sneered. He crossed his claws, and two puffs of smoke exploded on either side of him. From the smoke appeared two more clones of his.

"Your youth may give you strength, but my age gives me experience, of which is clearly twice that of your own."

Ninja Star gasped as he saw the two clones ready themselves within fighting stances.

Slash snickered. "I am just as capable of replicating myself as many times as you can. But while you foolishly expended your chakra by cloning yourself to your maximum, I reserved my own chakra to create as much clones as I only needed. And now that you have expended your necessary chakra, I can easily outnumber you."

Ninja Star merely stood his ground and readied his katana. "It matters not how many clones you throw at me, I can strike down each and every one of them with ease."

With that, he made a mad dash forward, his katana drawn, ready to strike any of the two clones than now positioned themselves before the original Slash as if they were his bodyguards.

Continuing his dash forward, he raised his katana overhead, and readied himself to send it down upon the closest clone—but before he could, both clones disappeared into puffs of smoke. This forced him to stop in place, freezing in a pose almost as if he were a statue.

When the smoke dissipated, it revealed that, where the two Slash replicas had stood, now stood two mares—both whom looked all too painfully familiar to the ninja pony.

One was a middle-aged mare wearing a pink kimono whose purple hair was woven into a beehive kept in place with a red pin; the other, a small filly who had equally purple hair tied into two buns on either side of her head, with the left one sporting a cherry blossom.

Whatever pain Ninja Star had endured that evening was multiplied twofold. Merely looking upon the images of the two dead mares forced a trickle of tears from his eyes. His arms ached as he forced them above his head, preventing his katana from falling down upon either mare.

Tsuri looked upon him. "Would you so easily strike me down with your sword, dear prince?"

"Or me?" Hana added.

One, two steps Ninja Star took backwards. His arms ached from steadying his sword, preventing it from falling to the ground, while likewise preventing it from coming down upon either mare's head.

"Would you take our lives as easily as your adversary had taken it?" Tsuri asked.

"And would you avenge our deaths by bringing them about once more?" Hana added.

Fluttershy covered her mouth with both hooves. She could see the pain reflected within Ninja Star's eyes as he was confronted by two close friends that he had lost.

From behind the two mares, Slash stood sporting a satisfied smirk. That smirk only fueled Ninja Star's rage against him.

"Monster!" the ninja pony barked at him. "You think I don't know the difference between illusion and reality? You dare vex me with these images? You would create them in a vain attempt to stay my blade?"

Slash smirked even harder. "Not exactly."

Before Ninja Star could figure out what his adversary meant by that answer, he heard Fluttershy cry out from behind him.

"Ninja Star-kun, behind you!"

XXX

"Hee! I see youse captured the rainbow-haired one, Sky Wind."

From across the battlement flew Swoosh as he landed several feet away from the two embracing pegasi.

"Let's go ahead and drag her back to your old lady so that we can—"

His eyes widened as he saw the two release their embrace to turn their attention to him.

"Hey! You wasn't capturing her, you was hugging her. What gives?"

Sky Wind could only chuckle. "Yes, I was hugging her. That's what friends do."

The tengu raised an eyebrow. "Friend? C'mon, Sky Wind, don't be a kidder. That was an act you was playing to get all close like with them."

Sky Wind lifted himself from out of the rubble and shook away the dust. "I thought so, too. But then I remembered all the good times that I had with them. I may have had amnesia, and the whole thing may have initially been a ruse, but the feelings that I had during that time, the feelings I shared with them, were all genuine. Rainbow Dash, all of the ponies in Ponyville, they're my friends."

Swoosh scoffed. "You don't needs no friends. Youse is the son and heir of the Dark Stallion, the true sovereign of Equestria. You has royal obligations to uphold, you know what I'm saying?"

Sky Wind shook his head and took one step forward, standing in front of Rainbow Dash. "Not anymore. I thought following in my father's footsteps and fulfilling his legacy was the only thing I had going for my life, but after living down in Ponyville with the others, I discovered that there was a whole other world waiting for me, a world that would love me for who I am, and not because of some birthright or title."

He took a look back at Rainbow Dash before glaring back at Swoosh. He spread his wings, almost as a shield to protect his friend, as he took a solid stance. "And I cannot let anyone, not even my father, take that world away from me, to take it away from anybody."

Swoosh grew even more frustrated at the young prince's words, which showed in his furrowed brow and grit teeth. "You would dare defy your mother and father?"

Sky Wind took yet another step forward, maintaining his mighty stance. "I would defy anyone who would hurt my friends. I'm willing to fight for them, because—"

He paused to look back at Rainbow Dash and smile, which she gladly returned, before turning back to Swoosh.

"Because I love them," he finished. "And anypony who would give their soul has the power to change the world."

Swoosh lunged forward and, in a single swoop, swiped Sky Wind upside the head with his staff.

"What type of saccharine sugar-coated sap is that?" Swoosh exclaimed. "That sounds like something youse would hear from a little girl's cartoon, am I right?"

Sky Wind retaliated by reeling on his hind legs and pummeling Swoosh with his forelegs. The tengu was kicked back across the battlement and into the air, where he quickly took flight, flapping his wings to keep him in mid-air.

"Youse want a fight?" He asked. "I'llse gives yah a fight!"

XXX

Xander felt himself fall back to the ground, though far more quickly and with more weight than usual. He tried to move, but try as he might, struggle as he could, he could not move. His legs and feet felt numb as they stood firmly in place, almost as if they had been cemented to the earth below him.

He gazed at the ground and saw as he stood within a circle of glowing white light with a pentagram drawn within it, with him standing right in its center. About the circumference glowed white letters of an unintelligible language.

Xander turned his gaze back to Squish, who floated nearby, overlooking the circle. The kappa wizard returned a devious grin.

"Impressed, are you not?" he quipped. "You should be. After all, it was your genius father who invented this technique."

Xander only further gritted his teeth. "My father?"

"You think that one time in your house was the first time I had confronted him?" Squish asked. "Not quite. I had previously run into him long ago during one of his quests for the Amulet. I had confronted him in heated combat, and had nearly overtaken him. Things were looking grim from him until your father did this."

Xander continued to struggle to move his legs, but they would not budge, not even one inch. They were immobile, as was his entire body. It felt as if he had been transformed into a stone statue.

"Your father was an average fighter, Xander, but he was a brilliant scientist," gloated Squish. "Who else but him would have thought of creating something like this? This magical circle was just what he needed to keep me at bay while he ran away for safety. Of course, as I exhibit blue magic, I was able to replicate it for myself, with some—modifications!"

Xander had enough strength within him to keep his head lifted and his gazed aimed at the Kappa. "What modifications?"

Squish waved his hand forward. "Observe for yourself."

The outer rim of the circle began to revolve, almost like a vinyl record beginning its rotation upon a turntable. As the outer rim circled, the shape of the pentagram remained in place, yet started to reverberate within its glow, going from bright to dim, then dim to bright, almost like the light of a broken lightbulb.

From the outline of the pentagram and circle began to spark electrical energy. It sparked and flickered like the light emanating from a bug zapper, and it began to slowly creep around Xander's legs.

He first began to feel the sparks prick his legs like needles, but then, as the energy intensified, it began to run up his legs and over his body, piercing and stinging him as though her were being stung by a swarm of bees.

"Your father merely invented this technique to trap his foes, but I have modified it to trap and kill," Squish told Xander, witnessing with glee as the colt squirmed in pain as electricity surged through his body. "Now your own father's invention will be your own undoing, Xander!"

He raised his staff above his head, and shouted, "Ardeo!"

Like an electric surge igniting a gas fire, so too did the electricity surging through Xander ignite him as he burst into flame.

Xander yelled out as every inch of his body became engulfed within a single flame, with his body serving almost as a wick. Any burn he may have previously felt in life was intensified one hundred fold as flames raging across the spectrum from hot red to burning orange and scolding yellow licked his coat and flesh. He could have been doused with boiling water, and we would have been much cooler than he currently was engulfed in flame. His scream of agony was quickly squelched by the smoke rising into his throat and nostrils.

Twilight could only stand as steadfast as Xander as she watched him burn alive.

With his staff remaining raised, Squish gave a shout of, "Conglacio!"

The raging fire engulfing Xander soon died down to a simmering flicker. As the last flame was snuffed out, across Xander's charred flesh stretched a thin patch of ice, which appeared upon his skin like morning frost on a window. Within a few seconds, he was encased entirely in blue and white ice, covering his body like frosted armor, and making him appear like a frozen statue. Now Xander felt more bitterly cold than he had ever felt before, making any previous instance he was out in below freezing weather feel like the warmest summer day.

One last time, with staff extended, Squish called out, "Attono!"

Once more, electricity surged through the outline of the circle and pentagram, and rushed up through Xander. So intense was this surge of electricity that it cracked his icy armor, chipping it away from his skin. As the ice around his head fell away, it freed his mouth, allowing him to freely shout in pain as the electricity intensified. From his body rose wisps of black smoke as electricity rushed through him inside and out.

With a sudden explosion, the electric surge burst from him. At that point, he could feel his heart stop as he blacked out. The light within the circled died, and with it, the magic that had kept Xander trapped, allowing him to feely fall to the ground into a steaming pile.

"Xander!" Twilight cried out to him.

XXX

Ninja Star heard a sharp whistle approaching behind him, causing him to turn around and whip his sword out. He had turned just in time for his katana to intercept an approaching kunai knife, striking it away from him. A few seconds too late, and it would have been implanted into the back of his head.

In another swift motion, he whipped a kunai of his own from out of his satchel and flung it in the direction where the original kunai had flown from. In a blink of an eye, it had struck one of Slash's clones, which had been hiding within the shade of a far off tree, forcing the clone to disappear into purple smoke.

"Cur!" Ninja Star grunted through his teeth, which he used it to clench his sword. "You think you can distract me with such a trick?"

Slash continued to smirk. "As a matter of fact—"

Ninja Star felt two sharp prangs in his back, forcing him to groan out in pain and release his sword from his grip.

"Yes!"

Fluttershy teared up. "NINJA STAR-KUUUUUUUNNNNNN!"

XXX

Sky Wind clashed with Swoosh in the sky as he did earlier with Rainbow Dash. The two flew at each other and ricocheted off one another as pendulums balls. This time around, the force by which Sky Wind struck was weaker than before, with most of his strength having been knocked out of him—literally!—by Rainbow Dash's piledriver of a Sonic Rainboom. Nevertheless, he persevered.

Swoosh merely cackled during their fight. "Give it up, kid. You can't defeat me. I'm the ones whose taught ya everything yas know about flying, Capisce?"

Once more, he soared toward Sky Wind. Before he could crash into him, Sky Wind dodged, forcing Swoosh to miss by a long shot. The tengu stopped and turned to look back, only to see nothing behind him. He had stared off into the distance long enough not to notice Sky Wind fly up behind him and kick him upside his head's backside, sending him reeling a few feet.

Sky Wind gave a hard chuckle. "You may have taught me everything, but I have the youth and stamina to outfight you, old man!"

He lunged right toward Swoosh as he remained reeling in midair. Unfortunately, before he could collide into the tengu, he felt a sharp cramp in his wings. The cramp quickly became more severe as his wings folded backwards on themselves.

Sky Wind let out a harsh cry as he began falling toward earth and the castle below, twisting in air several times during his harsh descent like a plane whose wings had fallen off. Onto the battlement below he crashed, bouncing along the wall once, twice, before skidding to a halt.

"Sky Wind!" Rainbow Dash cried out. She could only sit and watch as she saw her friend lying painful upon his belly, his wings contorted in every way but the proper direction.

Swoosh landed opposite of the fallen pegasi as he smirked to himself. "Heh! Looks like you exerted yourself way too far, especially after that beating your marefriend gaves yah, you know what I'm saying?"

The tengu lifted his staff above his head. "But don't worry: I'll gives yah a lift."

As he flung his staff forward, from it erupted a harsh gust that threw Sky Wind several feet into the air, his body as limp as a rag doll, with his limbs and wings flailing every which way.

With another wave of his staff, Swoosh caused the wind to swirl into a twister which kept Sky Wind hovering in its center several feet above in midair.

Swoosh took his free hand and positioned it before his face with two fingers pointing upward. As he made this gesture, the rings on the end of his staff stood on end and began to glow.

Simultaneously, the wind within the twister containing Sky Wind intensified, beating against the already beaten pegasi with such veracity that the sheer pressure made it impossible for him to breath.

Swoosh grit his teeth. "And now, for the finish move: Tempest Barrage!"

Wind whipped passed the tengu's body and let loose a flurry of his own black feathers, whose tips glowed a silver glow as they were whipped up into the tornado and passed Sky Wind.

As the feathers flew past him, their tips, sharpened by Swoosh's magic, slashed at every inch of his body like tiny razor blades, covering him with so many lacerations that his coat almost appeared covered with red ribbons.

The pain would have caused Sky Wind to scream with every last bit of air within his lungs had his ribcage not been completely compressed by the tornado's pressure. All he could do was scream silently as he felt the innumerable stings lash against his body and unleash his blood.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, watching helplessly from below, was able to scream out, "Sky Wind!"

XXX

Ninja Star fell face flat onto the ground. Embedded in his back were two kunai knifes. So implanted were they in his flesh, which unleashed blood like water from a rock, that their handles could barely been seen.

Behind him stood the images of both Tsuri and Hana. Both had their arms stretched out before them. When Ninja Star had his back turned toward them to deflect the incoming kunai knife, they had lunged toward him with kunais of their own, stabbing him in the back.

The two dissipated back into the image of Slash before eventually disappearing into puffs of purple smoke, leaving the real Slash standing.

On the other end standing afar, Fluttershy fell upon her knees. Her eyes were drenched with tears that flowed as freely from her face as the blood flowed from Ninja Star's back.

Slash cackled to himself and leapt into the air. Both his claws glowed in an indigo light.

"Now to finally finish you off," he announced as he crossed his blades, having them glow brighter. "X-Cross Slash!"

The mantis unleashed two red energy beams that flew toward the felled swordpony.

XXX

Xander lay face down upon the ground, his coat charred with soot and ash, steam rising from his limp body. The magic circle that he had been trapped within was no more, allowing him to freely move—that is, if he could.

He most certainly could not.

Squish cackled. "You certainly put up more of a fight than did your father, but alas, you will met his very same end."

The kappa wizard lift his staff above his head. The sapphire at its head glowed bright blue with magical energy.

"And now, I shall seal your fate," Squish exclaimed, flinging his staff before him, and unleashing a beam of blue energy at Xander's lifeless body.

XXX

When the winds keeping him afloat and the vortex entrapping him had died down, Sky Wind was sent falling flat upon the barracks. He lay nearly lifeless upon the stone, which ran red with his own blood. His entire body was covered with innumerable lacerations, allowing his red blood to stain his purple coat. What energy had been knocked out of him through his fight with Rainbow Dash had completely been snuffed out after her alteration with Swoosh.

The tengu remained floating in midair looking down upon the fallen pegasi with sinister satisfaction. "Heh, that's what you get for betraying your family, kid, and you never betray the family unless you want to be sleeping with the fishes, capisce?"

Swoosh ceased flapping his wings, allowing him to freefall toward where Sky Wind now lay. "Now to finish you off: Tempest Drill!"

As he continued descending, he began to twirl. As he did this, purple energy formed around him, and likewise twirled along with him, creating what appeared to be a purple drill head that was fast approaching the unconscious former prince.

XXX

The blue magic rushed toward Xander, but before it could strike him, was reflected into the opposite direction with a bright flash.

Before the magic could strike, Twilight had apparated in front of Xander and created a magical force field, deflecting Squish's attack.

The force field faded away along with the magical beam, revealing Twilight as she stood above her unconscious friend—or at least, whom she had considered to be her friend.

She turned her gaze at the kappa wizard floating far away opposite of her, revealing a glare that pierced through his very being more painfully than the very attack he had unleashed.

XXX

The red energy collided where Ninja Star lay, tearing up the ground in an explosion, and sending forth dirt and debris into the air as a cloud.

Slash landed upon his feet, grinning to himself in self-satisfaction. His grin soon turned into stunned expression of shock as he saw the dust cloud dissipate.

As the dust settled, another silhouette of a pony could be seen standing above Ninja's Star limp body. The pony guarded the fallen ninja with a bamboo reed stretched before it. As the dust settled, the pony's wings were made more clearly visible, and it was revealed to be none other than Fluttershy.

The mare had raced before Ninja Star and used her bamboo staff to guard him from the incoming blast. The dust from the explosion had settled into her fur and hair, leaving her more disheveled than usual.

With staff clenched firmly within her teeth, she lifted her head and gazed at the mantis standing opposite of her, glaring at him with a fierce glare that pierced him more painfully than any steel blade.

XXX

Before Swoosh could strike Sky Wind with his Tempest Drill attack, he was intercepted by a blue blur with a rainbow trail, knocking him backwards, skidding across the battlement.

When he had stopped, he lifted himself up and brushed away the dust. He saw on the opposite side as Rainbow Dash stood in front of Sky Wind, having guarded him from the attack.

Dash picked her head up and turned her angry gaze upon Swoosh, who likewise returned the gaze.

XXX

Fluttershy glared at Slash.

Rainbow Dash glared at Swoosh.

Twilight Sparkle glared at Squish.

All three mares stood steadfast and resolute next to the bodies of their fallen stallions. Thunder roared above them, and lightning flashed as they stared down their respective adversary, who stood opposite of them.

Though an incoming storm was raging above, the storm of righteous indignation raged even more within each of the three mares, all of whom were more than willing to unleash it upon the very adversary whom had dared harmed the pony they loved and cared for.

XXX

_**Rainbow Dash:**__ You Shadow Clan creeps have really done it this time._

_**Twilight Sparkle:**__ You captured our princesses, and now you hurt our friends._

_**Fluttershy:**__ We won't ever forgive you, even if you do say you're sorry._

_**Squish:**__ Hee! You won't get an apology out of us, just a good thrashing._

_**Slash:**__ You best surrender yourselves now or prepare to face defeat._

_**Swoosh:**__ Youse guys don't want to end up like your colt friends here, you know what I'm saying._

_**Dash:**__ Next time on My Little Pony: "No Fury Like A Filly Scorned-Twilight, Dash, And Fluttershy Retaliate!" This one's for Sky Wind!_

_**Fluttershy:**__ For Ninja Star!_

_**Twilight:**__ For Xander!_

XXX

**My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and characters © Hasbro and Lauren Faust**  
**Xander © Me**  
**Skywind © ex626AKAKeon**  
**Ninja Star © Ninja-8004**  
**Apperances of the Three Pony Tribe Leaders © Emkay-MLP **

**Voice Credits**

**Twilight Sparkle ...Tara Strong**  
**Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy...Andrea Libman**  
**Applejack, Rainbow Dash...Ashleigh Ball**  
**Rarity, Princess Luna...Tabitha St. Germain**  
**Princess Celestia...Nicole Oliver**  
**Spike...Cathy Weseluck**  
**Xander...Vic Mignogna**  
**Sky Wind...Antony Del Rio**  
**Ninja Star...Dave Wittenberg**  
**Squish...Samuel Vincent**  
**Swoosh...Derek Stephen Prince**  
**Slash...Roger Labon Jackson**  
**Shadow Mare...Susanne Blakeslee**  
**Dark Stallion...Ron Perlman**  
**Princess Platinum...Emilia Clarke**  
**Commander Hurricane...Kimberly Brooks**  
**Chancellor Puddinghead...Candi Milo**  
**Clover The Clever...Hynden Walch**  
**Starswirl The Bearded...Leonard Nimoy**


End file.
